Kill la Kill: A Different Story
by damned wolf warrior
Summary: A strange contractor become Isshin Matoi's bodyguard, but when this one dies he became Ryuko's shadow... Will he fulfill Isshin's requests? Will the course of action change? A.N. 21st birthday present for a friend of mine (who is the contractor xD) A.N. May go further than the anime if people follow it.
1. Contractor

**A.N: The sig sauer p299 is a pistol cal. 9x21, the magnum QTR-7 is a reverse knife and if you want to know about The Reaver Cleaver you must go on "Zombietools" on internet**

Name: Daniel.

Age: Twenty-five.

Job: Contractor.

Isshin Matoi stopped reading for a moment. He looked to the man in front of him, trying to understand if the man in front of him was serious or not. A couple of hours before, he was working on his researches when this man paid him a visit. He was searching for a job. A job as a bodyguard. He stared at him for a moment, not well understanding the reason of that statment. He welcomed him inside his house, leading him towards his office, but always keeping an eye on him. He was wearng a long cape so he couldn't see him clearly. But after inviting him to take a seat, that man, Daniel, took out his robe. Isshin saw that he was wearing a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. But his equipment was dangerous: a sig sauer p229 on his left leg, a frag granade, two flashbangs and a smoke on the right side of his waist, a magnum QTR-7 on the right and a sword on the back. There was also a strange short sword attached to his left side right under the arm with it's own name printed on the sheath: "The Reaver Cleaver". Isshin carefully took his bio and started reading, always keeping him under control. His skin was pale, his hair were short and brown and his eyes were brown too. He was also fit and his muscles were well toned. A perfect body for a bodyguard.

Hobbies: Kali.

Personal info: ...

White. This field was empty. Isshin placed Daniel's bio on the table and put his hands under his chin thinking carefully what to say.

"You left your personal info empty. How can i decide if you suit this type of work?" Isshin asked.

"I think the other informations are enough." Daniel answered.

Isshin thought about this. They sure were enough but he wasn't sure that he could trust him.

"Where do you come from? Your traits are not very common here." He asked.

"Let's just say that i come from the west. I can't reveal anymore if i don't get the job." Daniel answered again.

Isshin thought carefully about this.

"Well, if i don't know anything more about you, i can't trust you. Even because you just went here without any type of advice. I also haven't request any type of bodyguard. So..." Isshin said.

"You need me, Soichiro." Daniel interrupted him.

Isshin stopped. Nobody knew his real name. Unless...

"No. I'm not working for Ragyo. But i know a lot of things." Daniel said.

"How..." Isshin was shocked. Here, a completely stranger knew his real name.

"I worked for Ragyo. And you were here too. I was the only one discovering the truth about your fake death." Daniel answered.

"I don't trust you. And this just prove that i'm right. Why should i fulfill your request?" Isshin asked.

"You don't have a reason. But i know one thing for sure: You have a powerful enemy. And you need someone protecting you... Or your daughter" Daniel answered firmly.

Isshin's eye widened. He knew about Ryuko.

"Fine." He said. "I will trust you... For now." Isshin put Daniel's bio in a drawer of his desk. "But i will always keep an eye on you. Follow me." Isshin got up and lead Daniel for a tour of the house. He showed him all the rooms, saying that he could take a bedroom of his choice since there were three free but he could enter his laboratory only if summoned for now. Daniel followed him, listening to everything and memorizing the schedule of Isshin's movements: seven o'clock AM, leaving the bedroom. Half past seven AM, entering the lab. Midnight, leaving the lab and entering the bedroom. He was assigned to patrol the house and the outsides while Isshin was in the laboratory.

"That's all." Isshin said. "About the money..."

"I don't want money." Daniel said. "Just give me a room and a meal each day. Nothing more."

Isshin looked to him. No money. It was really strange.

"Who are you exactly?" Isshin asked.

"A friend. You have to trust me." He answered.

Isshin sighed. "Very well then. I'm going back to the lab. Your job starts now." He said before disappearing behind the door.

"I don't know if i can trust him or not" Isshin thought while descending the stairs towards his laboratory. "But if he really is a friend and not an enemy... He will probably be a useful ally. Let's just hope to find this out in time."

...

Some months later.

...

Isshin left his bedroom earlier than usual. Daniel was already patrolling the external areas of the house so Isshin waited him inside. He was carefully thinking about the risks of what he was going to do. If there were other possibilities, he would have gladly avoided this. But there weren't. When Daniel came inside some minutes later, Isshin stopped him and silently asked him to follow. He lead him inside his laboratory and, once there, he lead him towards a special room.

It was fill of any kind of instruments. Even medical ones. And there was an operating table in the middle.

"I need to ask you something Daniel." Isshin started. "Some months ago you came here to work as a bodyguard. I couldn't trust you because you worked for Ragyo, but now i know that i was wrong. Do you know what i'm researching?"

"I think something about a strange material called life fibers. You and Ragyo always talked about it" Daniel answered.

"You are right. These life fibers are a special type of material. They come from the space. If used in a certain way, they can enhance humans physical abilities: strenght, speed, agility and so on... But if used in another way..."

"Let me guess: They will destroy the world, will they?"

Isshind nodded. "This is what Ragyo desire. I faked my death so i could work on a way to stop her. I think that i've found it but i need your help."

"Go on." Daniel said.

"I need to graft the life fibers inside of you. Trust me, if i had other options, i would gladly take them. But this is the only way."

"What will my task be?" Daniel asked.

Isshin blinked. "You will have to protect Ryuko. However she must not find out about you. When she will be ready, we will bring her here. And i will explain everything to both of you."

"Fine. Let's do this." Daniel said taking of his t-shirt.

"Are you sure? There's no turning back." Isshin said.

"I am. I'm not afraid. If this is needed, then let's do this." Daniel answered laying down on the table.

Isshin got closer. He took a strange liquid and injected it in Daniel's body.

"Very well." Isshin said. "See you at the end of the tunnel." However daniel was already uncounscious.

"I hope you are able to synchronize with life fibers... And strong enough to survive."


	2. The Beginning

**A.N. Sorry guys if you waited long time... i had the chapter ready a week ago but i seriously didn't know if publishing it with the one of "kill la kill: second impact" (which is not done yet) or not... also i have to think if the story will follow the anime (which means i have to write chapters where ryuko and daniel won't appear) or will be ryuko and daniel centered (but i think that i will follow this path)... however, seeing that i'm taking a lot of time, i suppose i will publish it now this time... i will see in the future what to do... thanks for reading and for the patient!**

Daniel slowly opened his eyes. The room was barely enlighted. The source of light was a small lamp on a table on his right. He was very tired. He couldn't even raise a finger. The pain was strong, but he could handle it. He was a contractor afterall. Trying to remember what happened, he found himself in a room. His room.

"So... How do you feel?" Isshin asked.

"Tired... And thirsty..." He answered smiling. "However... I feel stronger than before..."

Isshin nodded. "The life-fibers in your body are improving your abilities. You need to rest now. Tomorrow you will begin a special training." Isshin raised on her feet from the chair he was on. "Just remember one thing... Absolutely NEVER let loose your anger."

With this, Isshin left the room, while Daniel questioned himself on the reason of such warning.

...

"You are improving." Isshin said.

Daniel was training his abilities and powers inside a small part of Isshin's laboratory. They worked togheter for a couple of days to create a small training ground in which Daniel could train during the day. Days quickly became months. Six months. In this time, he managed to fully control the power of his life-fibers, but he felt like it wasn't enough even if his improvements were incredibles, as well as his strenght, speed and agility.

"We can stop now." Isshin said loud. Daniel reached him immediately, heavy breathing for these long hours of training.

"Your progress are awesome." Isshin went on. "It seems that you don't have any type of limit in your improvements. You can keep going on and on but you will always grown in your abilities."

"I have a strange feeling..." Daniel said. "I feel that right now don't stand a chance against Ragyo."

"Trust me, you will." Isshin answered. "But for now, i have to ask you something." Isshin went immediately serious. "My daughter, Ryuko... She will come here tomorrow... I need you to watch on her. Protect her on her trip but she mustn't discover you. Be like a shadow. When she will be here, i will talk to her."

"You can count on me." Daniel said. "I will bring her here without problems." He smiled.

"Good. You can go to rest now. You will leave soon in the morning." Isshin said going back to work.

Daniel left the laboratory without a word. He had too much things in his mind: his training, Ragyo, Ryuko... And Isshin's word...

_"If you let your anger overcome your mind, you will have an incredible strenght... But there is the possibility that this power will consume you" Isshin warned._

_"What will happen to me?" Daniel asked._

_"If you are lucky enough... Death"_

Daniel balled his right fist. "I will not let my anger overcome me. I promise."

...

"This is my fault..." Daniel thought. He was hidden in the trees near the house, looking directly into it from the windows. And he could see the scissor blade that was piercing trought Isshin's body. He saw Ryuko throwing herself by his side with some tears in her eyes. Isshin gave her the scissor blade and Ryuko run out of the room following someone. The she arrived in front of the house and, a couple of seconds after, it exploded in flames.

"FATHER! FAAAAATHEEEEEER!" She screamed collapsing on her knees.

"What i've done... I had to protect him..." Daniel thought. He wanted to reach for Ryuko. He wanted to help her. But he promised Isshin to become her shadow. And this was hurting him a lot. There was something he could do however. He took out his phone and wrote down a message. When he thought it was good enough, he sent it.

Ryuko was still on her knees crying. Her phone rang but she took a couple of minutes before taking it out. When she read the message, she stopped crying and started to look around her. Seeing nobody, she read the message again before closing her phone, raising on her feet and leaving with the scissor blade on her back.

Daniel kept watching her. He promised to become her shadow. But he didn't promised to not send her a message sometimes. He kept moving from a cover to another, leaving a good distance between himself and Ryuko. It was enough to not be seen but he could still keep her in his sight.

"Ryuko, i'm Daniel. I'm one of your father's friend. He gave me your phone number asking me to help you in case something would happen. I'm sorry for your lost. He was a dear friend. I promised him to stay by your side, but i'm not in condition to meet you. I'm sorry about this too. I will, however, send you a message whenever i can. Just be sure that nobody will read them. Otherwise, i won't be able to help you. If you need something, may it be a friend to talk with or help for some problem, just ask. I'm here for you."


	3. What do you think?

Guys' i'm trying like a mad to find some free time to write (as i told you in the last chapter of "Kill la Kill: Second impact") but i'm having hard time... Moreover, the chapter is coming out extremely long... My idea was that every episode was a chapter, but it's taking a lot of time... What do you think: Two chapters every episode or one ultra long chapter every episode? Let me know what do you think suit best in a review please...

(Also let me know what do you think of the story... Since i'm italian, writing his story in english is really wearing me out... I consider reviews as a prize for my hard work and as a reason to keep going... But if i have no reviews i have some difficulties... It's a small request guys, just a simple review...)


	4. Honnouji High School part 1

**A.N. = CHANGING DANIEL'S AGE INTO 18 YEARS OLD.**

Six months has passed. Six months since Isshin's death. Six months in which Daniel followed Ryuko everywhere she went. Six months in which everyday he could see how strong was Ryuko's determination. How strong her desire of revenge was burning.

Ryuko sent him a message with her phone couple of times. Sometimes she was asking him about his father. Sometimes she was asking him about himself. Sometimes she let loose of her anger.

Sometimes she was asking him to confort her.

He always answered her. He always stood by her side. He told her something about her father. He told him something about himself, avoiding however to tell her about the life fibers in his body. He let Ryuko unload her anger.

He conforted her.

It was painful for him. He wanted to reach her. He wanted to embrace her. But all he could do was just a small message with the phone.

Six months has passed.

And now, Ryuko was standing on a bridge. The Honnouji high school could be seen in the distance, as well as the huge amount of houses beneath it.

"So..." She said. "This is the Honnouji high school..."

She took her phone. She watched it for a moment, then she wrote down a new message:

_Daniel, it's me, Ryuko. I almost reached Honnouji high school. I will..._

She then stopped halfway. She didn't want to bother him with her task. Thinking carefully what to write, she decide to change her text. She decided to write about her feelings:

_Daniel, it's me, Ryuko. I really want to talk to you. Actually i don't know what to talk about. Maybe i just need to rest. Maybe i just need a friend to spend the time with. I just... I don't know... It's still hard for me to keep going… I feel that I'm going to broke up soon or later… I wish to meet you… Even if just for a minute…_

Ryuko waited for a couple of minutes. Her phone rang when she received a new message. It was from Daniel.

_I'm sorry Ryuko. I would really like to see you. I would really like to meet you but i'm not in condition to come. I have some business to take care of. Don't worry. Soon I will be able to meet you. Just hold on some more. I will always be there for you, remember this. You are not alone, Ryuko._

"Thank you" Ryuko whispered. Placing her phone back in a pocket and adjusting a steel case on her shoulder, she moved towards that strange town. She was a bit hungry, so she bought a lemon. She loved that sour taste.

"Damn, this place is a mess!" She thought. She was right. Afterall, she was walking trought the slums.

While she was on the stairs connecting the slums to a better area of the city, she was stopped by a boy who runned into her. She was a lot taller than him and he was wearing a pair of short jeans and a t-shirt, which was leaving his left shoulder uncovered. His hair were brown and they were in the shape of a coconut or something like this.

"Sorry!" He shouted in hurry, running away.

Ryuko sighed. "Do you really think i'm this stupid?" She thought following him.

When the boy stopped, hiding behind a trash container, she saw him taking her lemon from his shirt.

"What? I thought i got the wallet!" He said.

"Aren't you too young to steal the fruit from the mouth of a nice girl?" She asked sitting on the top of the container. "Are you so eager to taste a girl flavor?"

The boy was taken aback, surprised, but he quickly recovered. "I already kissed a girl!"

Ryuko jumped off from the container. "Then you will have no regrets if i kill you here and now!" She said smiling.

"I wouldn't be so sure!" He said while other three boys showed up brandishing makeshift weapons. "You are doomed! This is my reign! Hand over the wallet if you want to live!"

"Man, these lines are old as hell!" Ryuko answered. "Oh well, show me what you can do!"

"Get her boys!" He screamed, but Ryuko just swung hard her steel case knocking down the three boys.

"I'm sorry!" They all said at once moving back and groweling after recovering from the hit.

"What?" Ryuko muttered.

"Bowing down to the stronger is our best suit." The first boy answered.

"Oh… Well.. I'm not the kind of person who beat up kids bowing down. I will let you go this time…" Ryuko said half smiling.

"Matarooo!" A girl shouted and the boy who stole the lemon was hit from behind by a book bag.

"What the fuck?" Ryuko thought as the girl plowed into Mataro pinning him down with different and painful holds.

"Shouldn't you go to school instead of stealing wallets?" She asked.

"I'm sorry!" Mataro shouted. However, when the girl let him go, Mataro run away saying something about not caring at all.

"I hope he didn't caused you troubles" The girl said to Ryuko, but she left before getting an answer running as fast as she could to get the tram, which already left the station.

"Man, this town is crazy…" Ryuko grumbled. She then turned and went forward on her path.

Reaching the huge gate of the school, Ryuko found herself staring to a student who was hanging by the wirsts completely naked. A sign was covering his lower half. It was written something about a punishment for crimes against the school.

"Intersting." She thought. "Maybe i will be able to find some hints here." And she went on.

"Class, today we will have a new student with us. This is Matoi Ryuko." The teacher muttered as he wrote her name on the board!"

"Ryuko! Ryuko!" A familiar voice called out.

Turning to see where the voice come from, Ryuko saw the girl she met in the morning. She was pointing the table near her saying that something between "It's free!", "Come here!" and "Ryuko!"

"Does she always act like this?" Ryuko whispered.

"Yeah, but you will get used to it soon." The teacher answered. "You can sit there if you want to. By the way, i'm Mikisugi Aikuro." He said reaching out to shake her hand. Ryuko, however, had a strange feeling about him, maybe for his strange look: Jeans, nightshirt with the first two buttons undone, tie, sunglasses and messy hair.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Mankanshoku Mako!" Mako said when Ryuko took her seat. She was wearing her school uniform and her hair were similar to Mataro's but they were more in shape.

"Nice to meet you." Ryuko answered. "What happened to the boy hanging outside?" She asked staring outside the window.

"He stole a one star uniform. Don't worry, this happen quite often here" Mako answered.

Ryuko thought about this for a while. "Man, this school is absolutely crazy, isn't it?" But Mako was already fallen asleep. "What the… Already?" She said surprised.

When the bell rang, Ryuko went out in the courtyard for the break and Mako followed her. She was talking about singing, guitar and then she started singing with a banana as microphone, but Ryuko wasn't listening.

"Mako, who is the most important student here?" Ryuko asked abruptly, ignoring Mako's performance.

"Oh, it surely is Satsuki!" She answered, then she took Ryuko's head and started push down. "Bow down! Bow down!" She shouted in fear doing the same.

Ryuko managed to free herself from Mako's hold and, rising her gaze, she saw the all the students were forming two groups separated by a small channel. Everyone was bowing in the same direction: A guy that was slowly coming towards them.

"He is a big one, isn't he?" She asked.

"Yeah, he is Gamagoori Ira, disciplinary comitte chair. He has a three stars uniform." Mako answered.

"Three stars?"

"Our uniforms are special ones: they give superhuman powers! They space from one star to three stars and they are assigned by Satsuki herself for your school merits." Mako explained.

"So your school grades decide your life-style? Man, this is fucking crazy…" Ryuko said.

"Speak of the devil…" Mako Interrupted her. "She is Satsuki, the student council president, the most important person here."

Ryuko turned to see the girl that her friend talk about. Satsuki was slowly descending the stairs, with a strange glowing light radiating from her. She smirked and quickly went straight on her path, stopping her in place.

"So, you are the head of this school, are you?" Ryuko shouted. She then opened her steel case and took out a strange red blade. After rotating it a bit with her arms, she pointed it towards Satsuki, who was a bit surprised to see it. "This is the scissor blade! I'm looking for the owner of the other half! I saw how you were shocked seeing it! You already saw my scissor blade"

"And what if I have?" Satsuki asked bluntly.

"The way you said it… You have the other half, isn't it?" Ryuko said angrily, jumping forward to strike her. However, she collided with a giant boxing glove which sent her flying in the middle of a group of one star student.

"Fukuroda, eh?" Satsuki said.

"Yes, ma'am. Boxing club captain, Takaharu Fukuroda. Permit me to finish this insolent wench." He asked.

"She is yours." Satsuki answered.

"Stand away you bastard!" Ryuko said pushing aside whoever was on her path and then lunging forward against Fukuroda. However he just stopped her attack with his right glove.

"That glove… Is it made of iron?" Ryuko asked.

"Don't you even know our uniforms?" He said casually.

"You are not wearing an uniform!"

"Gloves and trunkers ARE boxer's uniform! Imbued by the power of life fibers, even the gloves possess the strenght of steel!" He answered.

"I really don't follow you, but if they are made of iron, then I will have to throw my own punches!" Ryuko said.

"Your own… DON'T DARE TO SLIGHT ON ME! LEFT JAB THAT RULE THE WORLDS!" He shouted throwing a left punch, which created multiple torrents of fists that hitted Ryuko.

"LEFT HOOKER! AND THEN RIGHT UPPER!" Fukuroda said, sending Ryuko flying away. She then crashed on the ground pretty hard remaining stunned for a moment.

"I thought that you could prove slightly amusing, but you are just a fool that cannot hand that scissor propely… How dull…" Satsuki sighed turning away since it started raining hard.

"Hold on a moment…" Ryuko said weakly. Blood was covering her forhead." You know something, do you?"

"Mind your tounge!" Fukuroda said kicking her in the face and sending her to the ground again.

"Confiscate that scissor." Satsuki said.

"No…" Ryuko said rising on her feet again leaning against the scissor blade. "This is the one thing that I will never hand over! Never!" She said angily. She then swung her blade a couple of time. Fukuroda just made fun of her, dodging every hit, but he slipped on the wet and Ryuko took this opportunity to flee.

Outside the gate, she stole a scooter from a deliver guy, giving him his packages and fleed away as fast as the engine could carry her.

She didn't say a word. She didn't think anything. She just concentrated on the road. She left the city and just kept going. Before she even realized, some small tears were forming in her eyes.

"It's the wind." She thought when she felt them. "It's just the wind." She kept repeating it for a while.

When she reached her old house, she turned off the engine and left the scooter outside. The fire has burnt everything six months before. Now there were only ruins.

Ryuko slowly went inside. She reached the remainings of her father's room and stood there, leaning against a destroyed wall. She let herself slip, sitting down and burying her face in her knees. Her wounds were causing her some pain, but she didn't care. She took out her phone and quickly sent a message.

_Daniel, it's me again. I have a problem._

She hated to be weak. She hated to cry. But sometimes she couldn't bear it. She had to unload all her sorrow and all her pain.

_What happened? Are you alright?_

Daniel's answer arrived almost immediately.

_I… I got in a fight… And i lost…_

Why she was hiding the truth? She seriously didn't know. "It's not a lie… It's just a part of the truth." She thought sending the message.

_Strange… You are not the type to give up in a fight… Tell me the truth, Ryuko… What happened?_

"Great… Just great… He already understood…" She thought.

_Are you angry?_

_No, I'm not… It's alright Ryuko, don't worry…_

_I… Sorry… I went to Honnouji high school… I went to search some clues on my father's death… I was so close to uncover the truth… And I lost…_

Small tears were falling from her cheek while she wrote the message.

_Ryuko, don't worry… It happens sometimes that our goal is further than what we think… Now you have found a new obstacle on your path… Don't let it take you down… You will find a way to pass over… I belive in you…_

Ryuko smiled sadly.

_Thanks Daniel… But I think that this time I won't be able to handle it… They have those strange uniforms that give them superhuman powers… And I'm just a seventeen girl…_

_They have uniforms… But you have your determination… You are stronger than what you think…_

_I'm not that sure…_

_Are you crying now, Ryuko?_

She was taken aback by this. For all the time, she was holding herself back. She never fully let herself go. But now, she was crying. And she couldn't stop anymore.

_Yes._

A simple answer. A simple word. A word that, however, held a strong meaning: She was about to break. Ryuko waited a couple of minutes. Daniel was late. "Is he disappointed?" Ryuko thought. After another couple of minutes, when she was about to throw the phone away and cry alone, her phone rang. And then again. And then again.

"A call…" Ryuko thought. "Who's…" She started, but the name displayed on her phone surprised her.

It was Daniel.

"D… Daniel?" She said answering the call.

"Hi, Ryuko" He answered. His voice was calm and warm.

"Daniel… Is that… Is that… Really you?" She asked while other tears went out.

"Yes Ryuko. It's me."

No more words were needed. She just let herself go. The wall of her will just cracked and fall apart. She didn't want to be weak. She didn't want to cry. She didn't want Daniel to see her in this state.

But she didn't cared anymore.

She stood there crying for a while. When she calmed down, she went silent.

"Good girl" Daniel said kindly. "Ryuko, I would like to tell you something: When i was bothered by something, I could always count on your father. He always stood there, listening to me whenever I needed. Everytime I needed, I could count on him. He always said what you thought about my problems and added a line: Don't lose you way. I'm telling you the same thing: Don't lose your way. You are way stronger than this, trust me. I know, it's hard to get over with what happened. But you are not alone. I'm here. You can always count on me, as I always could count on your father."

Daniel paused for a moment.

"Where are you now, Ryuko?" He asked.

"My house… Or what remains of it…" She answered weakly.

"It's midday… I suggest you to rest a bit… You are pretty messed up and tired, aren't you?"

"How… How do you know?" She asked.

"I know you enough to say that if you lost a fight, this means that it was a huge and difficult one. Maybe you got grounded, but you are stubborn enough to stand up again." He said with a chuckle.

"Idiot…" She said smiling.

"You didn't forget how to smile I see."

"How do you know?" She asked blushing a little.

"I told you. I know you good enough." He said. "Come on Ryuko, rest for a while. I have to go now."

"Fine…" She answered sadly. "Will you… Will you call me again?"

"I will, Ryuko. I promise." He said.

"Daniel… Thank you…"

"You are welcome."

With this, Daniel put down the call. He was hiding nearby and he was watching over Ryuko. Smiling, he wiped away with his left hand a small sparkle on his cheek.

….

When Ryuko woke up, the sun was about to set. It was afternoon. She rubber her eyes with the back of her hand and, sitting up, she yawned loudly. Looking around, she found herself in the ruins of her father's room. However, she found herself covered by a blanket. There were also a pillow and, nearby, there were a small lunch box with some sandwiches and a rice bowl with some meat inside. There was also a small message:

_I thought you would be hungry. Be careful, you can catch a cold sleeping with your wet clothes on._

Ryuko smiled. While eating the food, she noticed that her wounds were bandaged up and the small cuts were covered by some patches.

"Thanks, Daniel." She thought. When she was done, she got up slowly. She took her scissor blade and went to the middle of the room.

"I'm sorry father." She said planting the word in the ground. "I couldn't avenge your death. I was so close… If only I was strong enough…" However she couldn't go on talking: The ground beneath her opened up and she fell down.

"I hope you are right, Daniel." Mikisugi said from behind a pillar.

"I'm sure about this. It's time." Daniel answered.

"Well, if you say so… You are the pervert that follow her wherever she goes."

"You know I'm not a pervert… But hearing this from someone that doesn't waste a chance to strip down is really disturbing."

"That's because I'm a member of nud-" Mikisugi started but was stopped half-way from Daniel, who took out is gun and shoot a bullet near Mikisugi's head, cutting away a small strain of hairs, without even turning to see where he was aiming.

"If you even TRY to say something like this in front of me, I swear I will punch you in your face!" Daniel said dead serious.

"But I'm really a member of nud-" Mikisugi started again and Daniel fulfilled his threat: Hitting Mikisugi's face with a right punch, Daniel sent him to the ground unconscious. He then took him Mikisugi for a wirst and trailed him away. When he was far enough, he went back to the ruins. Once there, he saw a strong beam of energy shooting out in the sky.

"Ryuko, everything is in your hand now…" Daniel said before leaving to take care of Mikisugi again.


	5. Honnouji High School part 2

"Matoi Ryuko!" Fukuroda shouted. "Come out and challenge me! Otherwise, your friend here will have to pay for your crimes!"

He was standing in the middle of the courtyard and all the students were around him. Behind, Mako was blocked upside down over a giant boiler by her wrists and ankles. She was screaming about her panties and about "Not wearing the sexy ones."

Ryuko grinned angrily seeing this. She was wearing a long brown cloack, which was hiding her entirely. Moving throught the crowd, she found Mataro, who was about to get himself in a big trouble. She stopped him placing a hand on his shoulder, then she reached Mako with a single, strong jump.

"Ryuko!" Mako called out.

"Hold on!" Ryuko said. "I will get you out in no time!" Swinging her scissor blade, she destroyed the blocks, then she took Mako and jumped away rotating mid air and landing gracefully on a boxing ring.

"So you have come, transfer student." Fukuroda said.

"Using a hostage is playing dirty. I thought you were a boxer. If you really are, let's set this now, one on one." Ryuko said taking her scissor blade out.

"I don't think you can be considered a boxer, but I accept your challenge." Fukuroda answered.

The bell near the ring rang and a blonde girl came walking on it rising over her head a sign saying "Round one".

"I'm going to destroy you!" Fukuroda shouted out releasing a torrent of left jabs on Ryuko literally throwing away the blonde girl. Ryuko just stood there while all of them bounced away and filled the ring.

"How do you like it?" Fukuroda asked with a grin. "Get ready, I'm not done! Right straight!" He said lunging forward to punch her, spinning his fist like a drill and hitting Ryuko right on her chest.

The force of the spin literally teared apart her cape, revealing that she blocked Furukorda's fist with her scissor blade. However, it wasn't the only thing revealed.

She was wearing a strange suit: black and red shoes with an high heel, black long socks connected by red suspenders to a short black skirt. Two other suspenders were connecting the skirt to a strange collar, barely covering her chest on the front while a single one covered the middle of her back. Her arms were fully covered with the same black material and the collar had a strange small scarf that seemed a pair of eyes with the right one covered by a scar.

"W… W… What sort of outfit is that?" Fukuroda shouted out.

"J… Just quit talking!" Ryuko answered embarrassed.

"You are trying to distract me, are you?" He went on.

"I'm not wearing this because I want!" She answered blushing.

"How dare you! You are mocking boxing!" He said but his face was clearly showing his true thoughts. "Alright. In that case, I will undress too." He went on slowly reaching out for his trunkets.

"You are the one mocking boxing now!" Ryuko stopped him angry and embarrassed.

However, Fukuroda wasn't meaning to take them of. Instead, he locked his gloves to his waist and pulled outwards, revealing a pair of squared spiked gloves.

"I will take off the soft gloves then. Behold! These are the real Honnouji academy boxing club gloves!" He shouted out and, pulling a chain, more spikes appeared on the gloves.

"Even I can see these gloves are illegal." Ryuko said. "But still… This will be interesting."

The bell rang again and the same blonde girl of before came with another sign, which was saying "Round two".

"I didn't know what you were hiding with that cloak!" Fukuroda said lunging forward again and throwing away the blonde girl for the second time. "But now that you are half naked I will rip what little fabric remains to shreds and send you flying!" He then punched Ryuko on her chest again, but his gloves just shattered in pieces.

"What?" Fukuroda asked astonished.

"Your glove isn't the only thing that can turn into steel." Ryuko said.

"Impossible!" He shouted out hitting her again and again, but with no results.

"I can't feel your punches at all!" Ryuko shouted out. "So… It's my turn now, right?"

Her outfit then tightened up, giving her more power. Ryuko dashed forward, dodging every attack Fukuroda tried.

"Left jab!" Ryuko said while striking him with the hilt of her scissor blade in his face. "Right hook!" She went on striking his back. "Uppercut!" She striked his face once again, sending him flying.

"And to finish you up… Right straight!" She shouted out, tearing his uniform into pieces with her scissor blade. A thin red fiber then flied into his uniform, which absorbed it immediately.

"Get off my way!" Ryuko said, hitting him with her blade and throwing him against Satsuki. A wall of one star students blocked the body. Satsuki's council members, the elite four, blocked the blood. But a thin drop managed to reach her face. She just stood here, motionless, and wiped it away.

"Where did you get that outfit?" She asked.

Ryuko kicked the microphone on the ground and catched it. "It's a keepsake from my father." She answered. "And this scissor blade was left by the person who killed him."

"You said that your name was Matoi Ryuko… May I presume you are Matoi Isshin's daughter?"

"You… You know my father, do you?" Ryuko said, however she fell on one of her knees.

"You are bleeding too much, Ryuko." A voice said in her mind.

"Didn't you wanted my blood?" She asked low voice to her uniform

"At this rate you will lose consciousness in five minutes." It answered.

Ryuko thought about it for a moment. "We are going to end this another time!" She shouted out running away. She felt her breath heavy and her body was slowly becoming numb.

"Hell!" She thought. "Running isn't the best option I think!" Looking around, she saw the tram that Mako used in the early morning to reach the school. Dashing, she reached it and leaned against a support.

"Can't… You… Stop… Sucking… My blood?" She asked breathing heavily.

"Not in this form." His uniform answered.

"I really… Hate… That part… Of you… Senketsu." She stated.

"Not my fault." He said.

Ryuko's knees were trembling. She couldn't stand her weight anymore.

"Seriously… Stop… Sen… Ke… Tsu…" Ryuko managed to say before her world became black. When the tram stopped, Ryuko's body lost balance and fell outside unconscious.

Nearby, Mataro and his friends saw this.

"Woah! She's half naked!" One said and all of them made strange faces. Mataro reached out his hand but before he could touch her body, a strange sound come from behind his head. The sound of a loaded gun.

"If I were you I won't touch her." Daniel said.

Mataro and his friends jumped away in fear. "Who… Who the hell are you?" He shouted.

"Just a friend of hers" Daniel said keeping his aim.

"We are too!" Mataro said. "Trust me, we really are!"

Daniel stood here for a moment. "What's your name?"

"Like hell I will tell you!" Mataro said crossing his arms. Daniel just pressed his gun on Mataro's forehead.

"I'm Mataro Mankanshoku!" He shouted scared.

Daniel sighed. "You could say it before." He said placing his gun away. "Ryuko kicked your ass this morning, right?"

"How do you know?" Mataro asked after recovering.

"I saw you." Daniel answered bluntly. "Now, if you excuse me." He then turned and carefully lifted Ryuko in his arms.

"Ehy! What do you want to do with her?" Mataro shouted.

"None of your business."

"Unless you haven't seen it, she is injured, you dumbass!"

"That's exactly why I'm taking her away." Daniel said emotionless.

"Wait… You want to help her?" Mataro asked.

"Wow, you are so clever." Daniel said ironically. He was about to walk away when Mataro took him from his shirt.

"Come with me, my father is a medic!" He said smiling widely.

Daniel sighed. "Alright then. Lead me." He said. "But if anything or anyone will threat her, I will kill all of you." He thought.

Mataro just turned and run towards his house. "Just stay behind me!" He shouted running betweens hidden streets. After a while, he turned to see if Daniel was following him, but he was nowhere.

"What the heck?" Mataro said.

"Are we already there?" Daniel asked appearing behind him.

"What the…? How did you do that?" Mataro asked surprised.

"None of your business."

Mataro sighed. "Why the hell do I ask you anyways?" He then resumed running. Reaching his house, Mataro slowed down and, followed by Daniel, he approached the front door. He knocked just one time and the door slammed open. Mako launched herself on him and pinned him on the ground.

"Where have you been, you idiot?" She asked.

"Sorry sis…" Mataro said almost choking. "But we have another problem now." He said pointing towards Daniel.

Mako turned to face him and she saw that he was carrying Ryuko. "Wooooh… Ryuko are you alright?" She asked approaching her. "And who are you? Are you Ryuko's boyfriend?"

Daniel just blinked. "Answering your questions, she's unconscious, none of your business and none of your business."

"Daaaaad!" Mako called out, not even caring about Daniel's answeres. "Come here! You have a new patient!"

Barazo slowly came out of the house. "Ohi, Mako! What's the problem here?"

"She is a friend of mine! Can you help her?" Mako asked energically.

"Does she always act like this?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah. Trust me, you get used to it after a while." Mataro answered.

"I see…"

"Here, let me see her!" Barazo said approaching. Daniel however, took a step back.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything strange!" Barazo said with a smile. "Here, come inside."

Daniel slowly followed him inside his house. It sure wasn't big, but it had everything was necessary.

"Lay her here." Barazo said pointing to the middle of a small room, then he went to take anything needed.

Daniel carefully did as told, while Senketsu transformed back to his original form alone.

"Mataro." Daniel called out. "I have to ask you something."

"Yeah, tell me." Mataro answered.

"She must not know about me."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I said. You never saw me. I never existed. You brought her here on your own. If she discover about me because you betrayed yourself I will kill you in the worst way I know. Got it?"

"But…"

"Got it?" Daniel insisted.

"Yes."

"Good. Tell your family too." Daniel looked one more time to Ryuko, causing him to smile a little.

"Why are you so protective towards her? And why shouldn't she know about you?" Mataro asked. "Are you really his boyfriend? Oh I got it! You are a pervert who is stalking her!" Mataro said smacking his right hand with his fist.

Daniel slowly turned to face him. In a blink of an eye, he took out his gun and placed the barrel right into Mataro's nose. "If you even TRY to say something like this again, I swear that you will not survive next time we meet!" He said with a cold calm, as if it wasn't the first time he killed someone.

"Got it boss! It won't happen ever again!" Mataro shouted out in fear.

Daniel put away his gun and slowly walked away. "Oh, where are you going?" Barazo asked meeting him on the door. "None of your business." Was Daniel plain answer. He just went outside. Then, he disappeared in a blur.

"I think I can trust them… For now." Daniel thought.


	6. Researches

When Ryuko slowly woke up, the first thing she saw was the face of an old man heavily breathing on her. Shocked, she immediately punched him in the face, sending him against the ceiling and then crushing to the ground bleeding.

"Damn you, perv!" She shouted out angrily standing up. "How you dare touch me?"

She looked for her scissor blade, but it was nowhere to be seen. "Where's..." She started.

"Here, Ryuko." Mako said appearing from nowhere with the blade.

"Thanks Mako!" Ryuko replied. "Be careful! This old perv tried to..."

"Dad! What were you doing?" Mako asked interrupting her.

"Dad?" Ryuko asked with her jaw wide open. "DAD?" She asked again panicking. After a couple of seconds, in which her brain recorded the new information, she went on her knees and bowed. "I'm sorry!" She said.

"Don't worry! Nice punch, however!" Barazo said wiping away the blood from his nose.

"Well, she is my savior!" Mako stated.

"You rellay rocked when you were swinging that scissor while half naked!" Mataro teased getting near Ryuko, who was blushing a little for the embarassement. "No one with a sane mental state would fight like this!"

"Fuck you!" Ryuko said punching him in the head and sending him upside down. "It's something hard to explain!" She then blinked in realization. "By the way, i remember passing out on the tram! Who brought me here?"

"It was me!" Mataro said remembering very well the feeling of Daniel's gun barrel in his nose.

Ryuko was a little suspicious on this, but when she was about to reply, Sukuyu entered the room. "If beating up my son and my husband makes you feel better, feel free to do it as much as you want!" She then placed on the table some snacks and left the room.

Ryuko blnked a couple of time to understand what was going on. It was in that moment that she noticed the bandages around her body, her left arm and her right leg.

"What..." She asked.

"Dad bandaged you up!" Mako explained. "He is a doctor! Even if he killed more people than the ones he healed up!" She added nonchalantly.

"That's awful..." Ryuko stated.

"Don't worry!" Barazo said. "I never saw a dead coming back to complain."

"Exactly!" Sukuyu shoved a big pot of God-knows-what on the table. "Eat as much as you want!"

"Come on, Ryuko!" Mako said seeing Ryuko's shocked face. "These are some croquettes with strange things inside and some soup with other strange things inside!"

"I just use not toxic ingredients!" Sukuyu stated.

Ryuko's shock just grew when Gatsu, Mako's dog, entered the room. She trailed off in her thought, completely unsure on what was happening until Mako shoved forcefully some croquettes in her mouth.

Ryuko gulped down everything. The taste was strange and yet good at the same time. However, there was something in her mind that was distracting her: She wanted to send a message to Daniel. While the others ate, she took out her phone and quickly wrote down a text.

_Daniel, it's me. I need to talk with you._

Daniel's answer was quick as always.

_Tell me everything._

Then, she started to explain what happened. What she found at her father's house. How the fight with that boxing guy went on. How she passed out and found herself at Mako's house. She also explained who Mako was, telling him about her first day at Honnouji high school.

_What an... Intersting... First day._

_That's not what i mean! I wanted to ask you if you already knew about that basement. Did my father ever talk about it?_

Daniel thought about his answer.

_He just told me he was working on something, nothing more. I'm surprised that he had this strange taste about uniforms..._

Ryuko blushed lightly reading this.

_And what about Mako's family? Can i trust them?_

_For what you told me, i guess they are good people. Just be careful._

Ryuko smiled a little.

_Always worrying about me, uh?_

_Always._

It was a simple answer. A simple word. But it was enough to make her blush again.

….

Daniel smiled. She saw Ryuko blushing at his answer.

_Thank you._

_You are welcome. I have to go now, i have some business to take care of._

_Alright... Can i ask you one last thing?_

_Yeah. What's that?_

_When will i meet you?_

Daniel thought about this for a moment.

_I don't know, Ryuko. Maybe in a couple of days. Maybe in a week. It will be soon enough however. I'm sure about this__._

_Understood. I will send you a message tomorrow. Is it ok?_

Daniel chuckled.

_Yeah. See you tomorrow then._

He flipped his phone closed and placed it in a pocket. Then, he jumped away from the roof he was standing on.

"Aikuro." He called out. "Can you hear me?"

The communicator in his ear buzzed a little. "Loud and clear."

"Any results?" He asked.

"Actually, we have one. See you at the usual place in twenty minutes."

"Roger that. Over." Daniel said dashing away in the night. A couple of minutes later, he reached the designed place and waited for him, leaning against a wall. Luckily, Mikisugi was the kind of person who prefer to wait others than let others wait for him.

"You always arrive first, don't you?" Mikisugi asked with a smile.

"Just tell me what these results are."

"Cold as always." Mikisugi stated. "Here, let me offer you a drink."

Their 'usual place' was a simple bar on the street. However, Mikisugi continuosly said that you could find the best sake here. Daniel didn't cared at all. Even if he loved it, he didn't drink when he was working.

And he was always working.

"I'm fine." Daniel answered. "Just tell me what I need."

Mikisugi sighed. "Oh well… And I thought that we could spend some time as friends." He then handed him a small folder. "Here are your results. But… Seriously… What do you need them for?"

"None of your business."

"Oh come on! You don't know what kind of troubles I will pass if someone find out about this! You can at least tell me the reason of these researches!" Mikisugi said.

Daniel sighed. "I think you already know my reasons." He then looked at the folder. There was a label which said 'Top Secret' on it and the nudist beach symbol was on the top right corner. Daniel opened it and on the first paper he read 'G.C.R.H.N.'

"Will these be enough?" Mikisugi asked.

"I hope so… If this is not going to work…" Daniel started, but then he stopped halfway. "Thank you, Aikuro. Warn me when you get other results." He then quickly disappeared in a blur.

"You never change, don't you?" Mikisugi sighed. "I wonder what he would have said if I handed him ALL the results I got." He then turned towards the bar and bought some hot sake.

….

The next morning, Daniel followed Ryuko at school keeping a safe distance. He was still thinking about the info Mikisugi gave him, trying to find out a solution, when he saw Ryuko falling in a river which lead towards the sewers. He immediately jumped down and followed her, making sure to not be seen. Once he found her, he saw she passed out. Her metal case was blocked by some metal bars and she was laying on it with her upper part of the body.

In a quick movement, he caught her and lifted her bride style with her head resting on his chest, as if she was listening to his heart, while shifting her metal case on his back. She sighed in relief when Daniel's slow heartbeat reached her. Daniel smiled at this.

"Guess you didn't sleep well, did you?" He chuckled. Then, he dashed towards Mikisugi's place. "I never thought that I would have to ask him something like this."

Once there, he stopped for a second. He sighed and then knocked on the door.

"Who's there?" Mikisugi asked from inside.

"It's me!" Daniel answered. 'Three…' He thought.

"Just give me a second!"

'Two…'

"Coming!"

'One…'

"Hold on, I'm unlocking the door!"

'Zero…' Daniel then kicked the door, slamming it against Mikisugi's face just when he was leaning forward.

"Perfect timing." Daniel said.

"Why did you do that?" Mikisugi asked faking an annoyed face.

"Because you were about to strip down to welcome me in your 'Nudist beach hideout'!" Daniel answered.

"That's not true!" He said. However, his shirt fell on the floor just a second later.

Daniel just stared at him like he was saying "That was proof enough".

"Fine, fine… You were right!" Mikisugi said raising his hands. "So… What brings you here?" He asked seeing that he was carrying Ryuko bride style. "I guess that she got in troubles."

"Exactly. Just take care of her." Daniel said coming inside and laying Ryuko on the couch. He was about to leave when Mikisugi caught him by his arm.

"Does she know about you?" He asked.

"In a certain way, no." Daniel simply answered.

"Why do you keep her oblivious about your presence?"

"I made a promise." Daniel answered after a while.

"I know about your promise. I know you and Ryuko exchange messages each day. Why are you acting so cold?"

"Just keep her oblivious about me." Daniel simply answered before leaving.

Mikisugi sighed. "You truly never learn, don't you?" Then he turned to face Ryuko. "Well, let's take care of her then."

….

_Well… Actually… I know him, but… How can I say… We don't talk a lot._

Daniel was chatting with Ryuko once again. She told him about what happened during the day: Her first fight with the tennis club president, Hakodate. Her awakening at Mikisugi's place and their strange conversation. Her second fight against the same club president and her victory. However, she wanted to know something about Mikisugi. She hoped that Daniel could tell her something so she sent him a message.

_What do you meant? Isn't he a friend of yours?_

_I told you. We don't talk a lot. Actually, it's been a while since I met him._

Daniel couldn't tell her all the truth. He hoped that Mikisugi kept his word.

_I see… Do you think I can trust him? He acts very weird sometimes._

Daniel sighed in relief.

_Yeah, I know. However, he is a reliable guy. You can trust him._

They went on talking for a while. Eventually, Ryuko told him that she was about to reach Mako's house and that she had to go. Daniel chuckled and, after the conversation ended, he placed his phone in a pocket. A slow breeze was blowing, strong enough to move his cape. He was knelt on his right knee on the roof of a building, watching as Ryuko and Mako went inside the house. He smiled, following them with his eyes. When the door closed, he stood up and jumped away from the room. He already read the info Mikisugi gave him, but there was still something missing. Something that he needed to know.

He quickly reached Mikisugi's place. Saying that he shared that small apartment with him wasn't correct. He just asked him if he could sleep on the couch. Mikisugi welcomed him without problems and Daniel officially settled there.

Once inside, he took the info he managed to gather and the ones Mikisugi gave him. He already read them twice, but he still felt it wasn't enough.

"I don't think that reading these files again will magically reveal you what you need." Mikisugi said.

"None of your business." Daniel answered.

"Just relax, Daniel." He went on. "Here, take this!" He said, throwing him a small bottle.

Daniel caught it with his right hand. "I don't drink during work."

"You are not working right now." Mikisugi smiled.

Daniel smiled back and took a sip.

"So… What are you trying to understand?" Mikisugi sat down at the window.

Daniel took another sip and waved his hand, silently asking him to come closer. Mikisugi moved to see what he was doing and he raised an eyebrown.

"Oh… Are you sure about this?"

Daniel took another sip. Then, he glared at him coldly.

"Absolutely."


	7. Researches completed

"So… That's what happened last night…" Daniel thought. "Hell… Ryuko is in danger. But I can't join the fight, otherwise..."

Daniel was watching Ryuko and Satsuki fighting wearing their kamuis. He felt something like a chill when Satsuki awakened Junketsu, but he couldn't know. He immediately rushed to Mako's house in the middle of the night, hoping that nothing wrong happened, and once there he sighed in relief. Everything was in order. Then, in the morning, he saw that Satsuki was waiting for Ryuko. He immediately found a place from which he could see the fight and he saw the reason of his chill.

"This is bad. I didn't expect them to fight right now." Daniel thought. "Ryuko is not ready. She need to… Crap!" He quickly unsheated his sword from his back. At first sight, it seemed a common katana. However, at close watch, it was radiating a strange aura.

Daniel saw Senketsu transform back into a sailor uniform. Daniel cursed under his breath, seeing how easily Satsuki threw away Ryuko. He was about to jump in the fight, not caring anymore about his cover, when Mako appeared between the two girls. After a very strange speech, which left Daniel questioning if the girl's mental state was stable or not, he saw Ryuko transform again, fighting Satsuki much better than before.

After a while, Satsuki left the battlefield. Daniel sighed, sheating his sword on his back. Focusing again on Ryuko, he saw that she was wounded and bleeding, but Mako was already by her side, bringing Ryuko to her father. Daniel smiled a little.

"She will surely be fine." He thought. Then, he turned and was about to jump away when a bamboo sword slashed in front of him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" The guy asked.

Daniel immediately recognized him. "So… You are Sanageyama, aren't you?" He asked.

Sanageyama was surprised, but he didn't showed it. "How do you know my name? I never saw you here before!"

"None of your business." Daniel answered.

"They _are_ my business as long as you are here!" He then dashed forward and slashed him down. However, Daniel stopped his blade bare hands.

"Listen to me Sanageyama: I'm not here to fight you…"

"Maybe you are not, but I am for sure!" Sanageyama interrupted him freeing his bamboo sword and attacking him. Daniel dodged every strike without problems, then he blocked his blade once again.

"What… ?"

"I will tell you again: I'm not here to fight you."

"Then what the hell are you doing here?"

"None of your business." Daniel answered coldly. "I will leave now." He then released the sword. "We will fight another time, Sanageyama. Prepare yourself."

Sanageyama was about to reply, but Daniel immediately disappeared in a blur. Dashing in the streets and jumping on the roofs, he quickly reached a place from which he could see Ryuko taking the tram to come back home with Mako. He had a lot of work to do with his researches, but he also had to make sure that Ryuko was safe and sound. Just a couple of minutes after he reached that place, his phone rang. A new message.

"Speaking of the devil…" Daniel chuckled.

_Daniel, it's me, Ryuko. I had a strange day. Mind if I tell you?_

_Hi Ryuko! Come on, tell me._

Ryuko explained what happened in a few messages. She began to tell him about her days at school since she arrived at Honnouji high school and he was glad about this. It meant that she trusted him. She told him about her fight, about Satsuki and about how her friend Mako made her understand what really meant synchronize with Senketsu.

_Are you alright now? It seems that you got wounded a lot!_

_Yeah, I'm alright. I'm bleeding a little, but it's nothing serious._

_Mmmh I see. I'm glad that you are fine. Just don't push yourself too much, ok?_

_Alright. I will be careful… What do you think, however?_

_I guess Satsuki was just testing your strenght. She left the battlefield once you managed to force her back, right?_

_Yeah she did._

_Then I'm right. She was trying to see if you were strong enough._

_But why should she do something like this?_

_I seriously don't know._

_Well, no need to worry about that for now. I have to go now, I need to take a bath before dinner once I reach home._

_Alright. See you next time Ryuko._

Daniel put away his phone. Jumping away from the roof, he quickly made his way towards Mikisugi's place. He had still some researches to do afterall.

Once there, he found Mikisugi already waiting for him. The folders and the files were scattered on the table in front of the couch and he was already working on them.

"I don't think this is wise." Mikisugi stated when Daniel approached him.

"I didn't ask for your judgment. I asked for your help."

Mikisugi sighed. "I'm helping you, Daniel. I understand your reasons, but I think it will be wiser…"

"Mikisugi…" Daniel interrupted. "I will do it, no matter what. You can help me, or you can leave me. Your choice."

Mikisugi sighed again. "Well then." He then took a sip from a bottle of alcohol and passed it to Daniel, who gladly accepted. They kept working for another couple of hours. Then, the bottle was empty and moon was shining in the sky.

"We will resume this tomorrow. Good night, Daniel." Mikisugi said, heading to his bedroom.

Daniel layed on the couch. His mind was far from his body. He was thinking about the problem that he was trying to solve. There was one thing remaining. Then, everything would be ready. He fell asleep a couple of minutes later. And in his dreams, he found out the last piece of information he needed.

….

"She will be fine, trust me." Mikisugi stated. Daniel however was still worried. He knew Ryuko was strong, but when he understood what "No late day" was about, he couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Come on." Mikisugi gave him a small friendly punch on the shoulder. "You said that you understood what we need, didn't you? What is it?"

Daniel quickly explained his mind. He explained his dream and his idea about their project.

"If we had more intel…" Daniel said.

"Actually…" Mikisugi sighed. "We have them." Then, he slowly went to his bedroom. A couple of minutes later, he went back to Daniel with another folder.

"What… Were you hiding it?" Daniel asked surprised. "Why?"

"Long story short, I wanted to see if you were absolutely sure about this. You know that there is a chance for you to die." Mikisugi threw the folder on the table, scattering its file and intel on it.

Daniel immediately checked all of them. "Aikuro…" He started angrily, but Mikisugi raised an hand.

"Before punching me again, check them up. I have to go to school, soon I will have to start classes." He said. "If you will still be angry when I come back, I will gladly take your punch. But if you will understand my reasons for hiding these intel…" He smiled. "We will go to our usual place for a drink."

Daniel sighed. "Fine. Just one, ok?"

"Alright. See you later then." And with this, Mikisugi left the apartment.

Daniel studied the new intel and data, matching them with what he already knew and taking some notes. The more he analyzed them and the more his anger disappeared, replaced by a cold calm. It took him the whole day to work on them. He had to be sure to not forget anything. Every single piece of intel had to be analyzed and studied. I single mistake could blow up his cover…

And maybe kill him.

He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and middle finger. He was getting a little tired. He needed to take a break, but these researches were too important.

"Come on." He thought. "Keep…" His phone suddenly rang, interrupting him. It was Ryuko, as always.

_Hi Daniel, how are you?_

He smiled.

_Hi, I'm fine! How was your day?_

_Weird, as always. It seems that today was "No late day" and there was plenty of traps and obstacles to stop no-stars student from reaching the school._

_What? Can you explain? _Daniel wrote faking surprise.

Ryuko quickly told him about the events that took place in the morning. Obviously, Daniel already knew everything, but he had to ask. Otherwise, his cover could be in danger.

_That's awful… What kind of school put the students in danger?_

_Kyruin's school. No surprise at all._

_I guess you're right. Just be careful._

_Don't worry. With Senketsu, I can handle these surprises pretty well._

Daniel chuckled. Ryuko surely was a strong girl.

_Yeah. You surely can._

_Daniel what's wrong? Are you alright?_

_Yes, don't worry. I'm just a little tired._

_Mmmh. You should get some rest. Come on, I have to go, Mako's father want to bandage my wounds. Go get some sleep, ok?_

_Yeah I will. Thank you Ryuko. See you next time._

Daniel put away his phone, chuckling again. He wasn't used to see Ryuko concerned about his health but he was glad about it. However, he still needed to talk with Mikisugi, who strangely was late.

"I'm back!" Mikisugi called out opening the door.

"Speaking of the devil…" Daniel sighed. "Why are you so late?"

"Well, I had to take care about the mess in my classroom. It seems that Ryuko was a little too… Eager… To attend my class, this morning." Mikisugi smiled, scratching the back of his head.

"Just come here. I will explain you what I found out."

Mikisugi walked to him and leaned forward. Daniel had already pierced togheter some intel and information.

"Ooh." Mikisugi stated.

….

"What the hell were you thinking, Tsumugu?" Daniel shouted out.

Eariler, in the morning, Tsumugu paid a visit to Ryuko inside the courtyard of the school. After a very little fight, he was pointing a sewer gun right into Ryuko's chest. Daniel was about to jump in and kick him right in the face when Mikisugi stopped him throwing a needle in Tsumugu's gun, signaling him to back away. Mikisugi asked both Daniel and Tsumugu to meet him that night at the usual place and both were fine with it. Then, Daniel passed the whole afternoon speaking with Ryuko. She was extremely angry against that guy, but she was also sad: She couldn't fight back at all.

Right now, however, he was about to tear Tsumugu into pieces. He was holding him by his jacket and was about to punch him, but Mikisugi catched his arm trying to held him back.

"Let me tell you two useful pieces of information…" Tsumugu said lighting up a cigarette. "First: That girl is wearing a kamui. And I will destroy every single kamui I meet. Second: Let… Loose… Of... My… Jacket…"

"I don't fucking care about your jacket! As long as Ryuko is under my watch, you won't lay a finger on her!" Daniel said. Mikisugi left his arm and quickly stepped between the two.

"Come on guys, calm down. I'm sure we will find out a solution…"

Tsumugu just snorted and left without another word. Daniel was about to leave too, but Mikisugi silently asked for a minute.

"What do you want?" He snapped angrily.

"You know Tsumugu's reasons to act like this." Mikisugi said. "Please, just for now, let him be. I guess tomorrow he will attack Ryuko again, but…"

"To hell with that!" Daniel interrupted. "If he even TRY to get close to her again I swear I will cut his head from his fucking body!"

"But…" Mikisugi resumed not caring about what Daniel said. "…You won't stop him, because…" He paused, staring at Daniel right in his eyes. "…It's about time."

Daniel calmed down instantly. "Are you sure?" He asked.

"Absolutely. It's time for you to get your final piece of information. Go to our base. It is already waiting for you."

Daniel thought about it for a moment. Then he sighed. "Take care of Ryuko for me ok? I will be back tomorrow evening." And then, he disappeared in a blur.

"No need to ask, Daniel." Mikisugi stated. He then turned towards the bar and ordered a small bottle of sake.

"No need to ask."


	8. Close call

**A.N. = Ok guys, I took a week off to recollect my ideas, cool down my brain and check up the situation. Since the university is getting harder, there is a possibility that I will slow down with the chapters, but I will always try my best. Also, I'm thinking about a third story, I still need to find a title, but the idea is about a sort of AU/College style. What do you think?**

**This is this story check up. If you read my other story too, you will find that there is one here too.**

**The plot is fast for now, following KLK's style, mainly because, as you can see, the first episodes won't change a lot. Yeah, there is a side story in which Daniel is making some researches (I will explain them soon, don't worry), but the main story is still the same. Soon, however, there will be a small change which will lead to a major change. Even if I will follow the main story, things will be different and the plot will slow down.**

**That's all for now guys, hope you enjoy this!**

Daniel immediately took his motorbike. He was analyzing the last piece of information that Mikisugi provided him when Ryuko sent him a message. She told him that she was attacked again by the mohawk guy and that both she and Senketsu were in tatters. He asked her were she was and if she felt fine. Ryuko answered that she was just a bit sore but everything was alright, that she rested at Mikisugi's place and that now was laying on her bed at Mako's house. Or at least she guessed it was his place since he was always there. He told her that he was about to drive his motorbike so he couldn't answer, asking for a couple of hours, and she said that there were no problems at all. Then, he took every file Mikisugi provided, put them in his pockets and reached for his motorbike, riding full speed towards the Honnouji high school.

He travelled the whole night, reaching the slums in the morning. Once he parked in his usual hidden place, he made his way towards Mikisugi's apartment. Once there, he knocked on the door with a little more strenght than usual.

"Who's there?" Mikisugi called out.

"Open this door. Now." He answered coldly.

"Give me a second, I'm a little busy now!"

"If you don't open the door now, I'm going to tear it in pieces." His voice left Mikisugi without doubts. Whatever he was doing, it could wait.

"Fine, I'm coming!" He answered after a small moment of silence. When Daniel heard that he was unlocking the door, he kicked it hardly, slamming it towards Mikisugi, who raised his arms just in time to block it.

"Do you really think that this little trick will work two times in a row?" He asked with a grin.

Daniel however just walked in, taking him by his collar. "You have three fucking seconds to explain…" However, he froze in his place. Inside the room, near the window, there was another person.

Ryuko.

Daniel wrapped his right arm around Mikisugi's neck, bringing him closer. "What the fuck is happening here?" He whispered.

"Well, she came here asking for private lessons." Mikisugi muttered.

Daniel tightened his arm around Mikisugi's throat. "You are such a bad liar."

"Fine, fine! She wanted to know about Tsumugu." Daniel released him for a second, then he resumed choking him.

"I'm lucky then, because I'm here to ask about him too." Daniel said with a smile.

"Excuse me." Ryuko stated. Both Daniel and Mikisugi turned to face her. "Whatever business you have with him, it will have to wait. I still have to finish questioning him." She said placing her scissor blade on her right shoulder and her left hand on her side. Then she noticed Daniel's equipment. "Who are you, by the way?"

Daniel sighed, releasing Mikisugi to face her completely. "I'm just one of his friends. Nothing more."

"Let me introduce you. Ryuko, this is Ted. Ted, this is Ryuko." Mikisugi said formally. Daniel tried his best to not jump on Mikisugi to kill him. He already told him one hundred times that he hated when people didn't use his name.

"Ted? I see." Ryuko said not completely sure about it. She seemed suspicious about this whole situation. She then sighed. "I'm seriously an idiot to search answers from you, Mikisugi. You want me to tear apart their uniforms, right? You want me and Senketsu to become stronger, don't you? Fine! I will destroy whoever will stand on my path." She then left, slamming the door behind her.

As the door closed, Daniel jumped on Mikisugi, choking him with his own hands. "Ted? TED? HOW MANY FUCKING TIMES I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO CALL ME BY MY NAME?" He said.

"Come on, calm down!" Mikisugi replied. "Your cover was in danger and I saved it, right? So what's the problem?" He asked.

Daniel sighed, letting him go. "I seriously don't know. It's getting more and more hard for me to stay in the shadows. The more I talk to her, the more I want to meet her. And she want this too."

Mikisugi thought about it for a moment. "Trust me, soon you will be able to meet her. By the way, did you get your last information?"

"Yeah. I got it." Daniel whispered. He knew that his task was pretty dangerous and that he needed to focus, but his mind was already wandering on Ryuko. Mikisugi gave him his bottle of sake and Daniel took a deep sip.

"What are you thinking Daniel?" He asked.

"I seriously don't know."

Mikisugi sighed. "Then what is holding you back from tell her who you really are?"

"I don't know."

Mikisugi stood silent for a couple of seconds. "You are seriously messed up, aren't you?"

Daniel smiled a little, taking another sip. "Maybe I think that's not the right time yet."

"And when will it be?"

"That, my friend, is very good question, which deserve a very good answer… If only I had it." Daniel answered getting closer to the table. "Is there anything else before we resume studying these intel?"

"Just one more thing: I placed some bugs in the school. It seems that Sanageyama is waiting for Ryuko in the dojo for a challenge." Mikisugi answered.

"So?"

"Aren't you worried?"

Daniel sighed. "Of course I am. But you know what I think: Entrust your life to your knife. This is my way of fighting. And if Ryuko trust Senketsu, then she will surely win this fight." He then took the data from his pockets and shoved them on the table. "Come on. We have a lot of work to do."

….

"Ah, that hits the spot." Senketsu said.

"That feels good?" Ryuko asked. She was ironing Senketsu at Mako's place. Since it was night, everyone was sleeping, but she didn't care at all.

"Yes, irons are wonderful. It feels like all the wrinkles in my body melt away and my life fibers line up one by one."

"I'm glad my plan for you to blind Sanageyama worked." Ryuko said smiling.

"Being cut up was rather painful, I'll have you know." Senketsu replied completely relaxed.

Ryuko lowered her gaze. "Sorry about that." She said a little sad.

"Don't worry about that." Senketsu chuckled. "If we hadn't won, I wouldn't be enjoying this pleasant ironing."

"True." Ryuko said chuckling too.

"And make sure to get behind my lapels too. Be thorough about it." He teased.

"Man, you're one demanding article of clothing, you know that?" She complained but her smile was still on her face.

"Sure I am." Senketsu chuckled again. "Not all clothing are made completely by life fibers. Mikisugi can confirm this."

"Speaking of him." Ryuko said ironing him. "That strange guys of this morning…"

"Yeah?" Senketsu asked.

"He seemed… Familiar… Like if I already met him. Or at least talked to him. I don't think these two told us everything. They are hiding something."

"Don't worry." Senketsu said. "We will cross that bridge when we reach it. Next time we will ask them."

Ryuko chuckled. "You are right. But for now, enjoy this." And with this, she placed the iron on Senketsu. Senketsu sigh of relief was reward enough for her.

….

"Told you that Ryuko would have handled him." Daniel said.

"Mmmh." Mikisugi muttered. "We will see this time. Sanageyama already asked for a rematch."

Daniel stopped from reading the papers he had in his hands. "Already?"

"Yeah." Mikisugi confirmed.

Daniel thought about it. No one ask for a rematch so quickly. Sanageyama could be described as stupid, stubborn, wild… But he knew his limits. If Ryuko defeated him, he would have trained himself before fighting again. Unless…

Daniel gathered his equipment at incredible speed. Mikisugi raised his gaze and opened his mouth to ask something, but Daniel was already outside. Running full speed, he immediately reached the two stars area. Then, he jumped roof by roof. In no time, he reached the three area sector. His mind was analyzing every kind of event that could happen. Reaching the school, he jumped on the wall. With the life fibers in his body, he easily managed to reach the top. Hiding, she scanned the area searching for Ryuko. What he saw shocked him. Ryuko was blocked into the ground, with just her head outside. Sanageyama slowly got closer and raised his bamboo sword, ready to deliver the finishing blow.

Daniel was about to jump in the fight when Sanageyama's uniform de-transformed. That caught him off-guard so Ryuko managed to free herself and escape. Daniel sighed in relief, but his concern didn't fade away. Keeping a certain distance, he followed Ryuko in her flee. Once she stop to catch her breath, he remained on a roof, hiding away from her. Just a couple of minutes later, his phone rang.

_Daniel, I have a serious problem._

_What happened? Tell me everything._

Ryuko then explained him about both her fights with Sanageyama. She wasn't scared, but she was hurt in her pride.

_Wow… I guess these elite four aren't just show._

_How can I defeat him? How can I defeat them? I can't go back now, I have to find the secrets of my dad's death!_

_The answer is simple, Ryuko: Entrust your life to your knife._

_What? What do you mean?_

_It means that no matter how hard your path will be, if you have faith in yourself and in your friends you will succeed in it. You and Senketsu just need some time to become stronger. Then you will be able to face them._

_Alright, I understand. Thank you. One last question._

_Yeah, tell me._

_Do you know a certain Ted?_

That caught Daniel off-guard.

_Yeah, let's just say that I know him quite well. How do you know about him?_

_I met him this morning at Mikisugi's place. He seemed to hide something. Moreover, what in the hell happened to him to be called "TED"?_

_Mikisugi gave him his name._ Daniel sighed while sending her this message.

_Oh. This explain quite a few things. Thank you Daniel. I'm going home now, I need to treat my wounds._

_Understood. Take care Ryuko._

Daniel put his phone back into his pockets and jumped away towards Mikisugi's place. He took the longer route, since jumping and running using his life fibers' power always eased his mind. Once there, he openes the door and went inside, closing it behind him.

"So…" Mikisugi said. "Mind explaining me why you rushed outside so suddenly?"

Daniel just got closer. He placed a hand on Mikisugi's shoulder and sighed with his eyes closed. Mikisugi blinked for a moment. Thinking that Daniel was about to whisper something, he got a little closer. However, Daniel just give him a strong headbutt, smacking his forehead on Mikisugi's one, sending him on the ground.

"What was that for?" Mikisugi asked in pain sitting up.

"Ted…"

Mikisugi stood silent for a while. "Alright I should have thought a better name." He sighed then, standing up. "Man, if you keep going like this, people will think that you hate me."

"I don't hate you. You are a reliable person. However, I can't stand some of your behaviors, especially when not needed."

"Oh." He then got closer to the table and resumed his work. "Mind explaining me what happened now?"

"Sanageyama sewed his eyes close. It seems that he developed a new ability called Mind-Eye."

"Mmh. This is quite a drastic measure, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

Mikisugi saw that Daniel was rubbing his nose's bridge. He smiled at the thought of a worried Daniel. He acted so cold and distant since Isshin's death. And now he was facing a problem: To meet Ryuko, as both of them wanted, and help her in her fight or to keep his word and let his cold behavior spread over his relation with Ryuko.

"Come on Daniel. Everything will be alright. She is a strong girl."

"I know. But I have a strange feeling."

"What is that?" Mikisugi asked.

"I don't know. Something… Far… And yet dangerous."

Mikisugi sighed. "We will cross that bridge when we will get there. For now…" He then threw him some papers. "We have a lot of work to do."

"This will be a long day." Daniel answered, resuming his studies.


	9. A day off Or not

_You started… A fight club?_

_Yeah, Mako will take care of the papers while I will fight the other club presidents. Isn't this a good idea?_

Daniel sighed. When Ryuko sent him a message in the morning saying that she found a way to reach Satsuki faster, he expected everything but this.

_Well, I can't say this is a bad idea at all. What about the consequences?_

_Mako's family will just move towards the one star area and if we are lucky enough even to the two star's one! They deserve it after what they did… I mean, they welcomed me without a second thought._

Daniel smiled. _Yeah, you are right. Just be careful, you can't never tell what's Satsuki's plan._

_Understood. I'm going to face the first president, see you later._

_Alright, see you later._

Daniel put away his phone. He wasn't sure about Ryuko's choice. If Satsuki allowed her fight club so easily, there must be something in her mind. However, he couldn't trail off from his work: He was almost there. Just a couple of days more and he would have finally found his answer.

"What she said?" Mikisugi asked without moving his eyes from his papers.

Daniel just looked at him surprised. "How did you know that I was talking with Ryuko?"

"Your smile."

"What?"

"Ryuko is the only one able to make you smile. That's how I understood that you were talking with her. Your smile." Mikisugi answered.

Daniel sighed. "She started a fight club. She said that it will be useful both for Mako's family and for herself."

"Correct. Mako's family will have a new life style and she will get closer to Satsuki for her answers."

"That's exactly what she said…"

"But?"

Daniel paused for a moment. He was trying to work out his thoughts, but when he was about to say them, he changed his mind. "I just hope she don't get herself in troubles."

As days passed by, Daniel found himself more and more worried. He couldn't focus on his work, always thinking at her. Ryuko was able to defeat a lot of presidents and Mako's family eventually ended up living in the two star's area. However he knew that this wasn't going to end well. Even if Ryuko kept telling him that things were going better with each passing day, he couldn't shake off his bad feeling.

At the end, he was right. One evening, Ryuko sent him a message.

_Daniel… You were right. I didn't thought about the consequences_

_What do you mean? _He asked worried.

_Things are so… Cold… I mean, we are living in a mansion, we can have everything we desire but… Everyone is on his own… I feel alone once again._

Daniel sighed. He was standing on a tree close to her mansion. He could see Ryuko from the window and luckily she couldn't see him. And he could see how this situation was taking a toll on her. Even if he talked every day with her since her father's death, she always felt alone.

_Daniel, what should I do? Mako and the others are happy about this new life style, but I don't want to feel alone once again._

_Ryuko… Do you trust me?_

Daniel saw Ryuko's reaction. She was surprised about this question. And maybe… Just maybe… He saw her blushing a little.

_Of course I do._

_I think you should quit the club. I know that this mean returning to the slums, but if they really are the family you described me, they will understand your actions._

Ryuko thought about this for a moment before answering. He waited patiently, while the girl made up her mind.

_Alright. I will do as you say. I hope you are right. Thank you._

Daniel smiled. _Good. See you tomorrow then. Good night._

_Good night._

Ryuko then went to the bathroom to take a bath before changing in her pajama and going to sleep. Daniel stretched his arms in the air, feeling a little tired. His work and his stress surely worn him out. Jumping down from the tree, he quickly made his way towards Mikisugi's apartment. Once there, he slowly went inside, closing the door behind him. He went to the couch and let himself fall on it, sighing out his tiredness.

"Mikisugi, are you here?" He called out, but he didn't get an answer. Tilting his head on the right side, he saw a small note on the wall near the window. He didn't want to stand up again, so he took out from his equipment a small scope. It was a twelve times magnifier, but he adjusted it to a lower amount.

"I have some business with my friends. I don't know when I will be back, but probably I will have some extra work with me." The note said.

"Great." Daniel muttered placing back his scope. "Mikisugi went to base. I wonder what kind of information he will bring back." He thought sighing. "Whatever. I'm taking a day off. I think I deserve it. Moreover, I'm so tired… And I feel sore too…" He then took a sip from the bottle that was standing on the table in front of him and layed down on the couch, not even bothering to remove his equipment. However, he removed his sword and his cleaver to feel more comfortable, placing them on the ground. Breathing slowly, he let his mind wander on its own. He was still worried for Ryuko and he knew that his researches were taking too long, however he fell asleep after a couple of minutes.

….

"Daniel?"

"Mmmh." Daniel groaned, keeping his eyes closed.

"Daniel? It's me, Ryuko…"

Daniel didn't move. He took a deep breath, waking up a little more, but not even bothering to open his eyes. "Cut it out, Mikisugi." He replied rolling on his side.

"How did you know it was me?" Mikisugi asked.

"You are awfully bad when you try to imitate other people's voices. Now, I'm taking a day off. Even if I'm half human and half life fiber, I need to rest too. And it's been a while since I slept well."

"Actually…" Mikisugi stated. "You already took your day off."

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked yawning.

"Check the clock."

Daniel opened his eyes and checked what time it was. Half past seven post meridian.

"Shit!" He said rising on his elbows. He immediately took the phone. However, there were no messages left. He sighed in relief. "Glad you woke me up." Daniel thanked.

"My pleasure. However…" He then placed a hand on Daniel's head and turned it to the side. "There is a little more work to do."

Daniel's jaw almost touched the ground. There was a _very_ high pile of papers on the table. "Is this…?"

"Yeah."

Daniel cursed under his breath. Rubbing his eyes with his right hand, he sighed deeply. "Tell me, Mikisugi. HOW THE FUCK IS ALL OF THIS NECESSARY FOR MY PLAN TO WORK?" He shouted.

"Well, you have a very ambitious target in your mind. And it's a very dangerous situation. One mistake and you are dead. That's why we have to study every small detail." Mikisugi grinned.

Daniel glanced at the pile of papers. Checking everything a little better, he saw something that he seriously didn't expected. "Is that… The blueprint?"

"Your abilities always surprise me, Daniel: You managed to find it with just a second look. Yes, that is the blueprint you needed. I managed to get my hands on it."

Daniel immediately stood up. "Alright. Give me some time to fully wake up and we are good to go." He then took his sword and his cleaver, re-equipping them, and left the apartment, heading for a small area outside the slums. It was a small clearing in a forest nearby that nobody even heard of. However, Daniel found it out once, while working for Isshin, and used it since his death for trainings. He went there in fifteen minutes, running full speed. It was his warm up.

Once there, he took off his equipment and his t-shirt. Standing on the ground with his upper body exposed, he took his sword and swung it around. His training program was simple: One hour of sword training, one hour of clever-throwing and fighting, one hour of physical training, and one hour of aim practice with a muzzle on his gun. A total of four hours, which he used to repeat a couple of times, but since he became Isshin's bodyguard and, when he died, Ryuko's shadow, he had very little time to train. Once he completed his schedule, he took back his equipment and dashed back to Mikisugi. Halfway, he received a message from Ryuko, so he slowed down a little, sending her a couple of messages. She told him about her fight with Mako and that in the end everything returned to normality. He chuckled a little about this: With Mako and Ryuko, he seriously questioned himself about what could be defined as _normality_.

Once he reached Mikisug's apartment, they already run out of topics, so Ryuko went to bed. Daniel went inside and reached for the bathroom to take a shower. Mikisugi was already reading some papers, but he knew that Daniel went training, so he didn't cared at all. Fifteen minutes later, Daniel left the bathroom and joined him near the couch.

They studied these papers the whole night. However, they were not even halfway. Mikisugi sighed, standing up and stretching himself a little. "Well, I have to go to school for now. See you later." Daniel just nodded, not even looking away from his papers. He needed to know. He needed to end all of this quickly. The sooner, the merrier. He sighed, glancing back at the huge amount of data remaining.

"Alright." He said tilting his head and cracking his neck on both sides. "Time to speed up." Activing his life fibers, he focused his power on his mind. With this, he managed to analyze a huge amount of intel in no time.

"I'm back!" Mikisugi said, but he got no answer. Coming inside, he saw that Daniel was way too focused. He went near the couch and leaned forward. He saw that Daniel's eyes changed color from brown to light blue with small shades of green and one or two golden spots in both his eyes which were moving around like if they were floating in the water.

"Man, this is very creepy." Mikisugi muttered. He then snapped his fingers near Daniel's ear. "Wake up!" He called out. Daniel's eyes suddenly returned to normal in a blink of an eye and a strong uppercut connected himself with Mikisugi's jaw, sending him to sit on the ground.

"Damn it." Mikisugi said. "I forgot about your reflexes."

Daniel stood there for a moment. He blinked for a couple of times, then he realized what happened. "Sorry…" He muttered.

"Don't worry… I got used to your punches a lot of time ago… What were you doing?"

"I used the life fibers in my brain. It permits me to improve my cognitive processes. However I hate doing this…" Daniel answered describing some small circles on his temples with his hands. "If I snap out of this to quickly, without redirecting my power back step by step, it leaves me with a strong headache… It's really a pain in the ass."

"A sort of side effect." Mikisugi stated.

"Yeah… What are you doing here? Didn't you leave a couple of minutes ago?" Daniel asked.

"Actually, I left an hour ago. I came back sooner because Satsuki announced the Natural Elections. It means that for an entire week there will be fights all over Honnouji high school. You should have seen the school courtyard. It was a complete mess."

"WHAT?" Daniel said standing up. "What about…" He however stopped since his headache just got worse.

"Keep calm. Ryuko said she would stay out of this. She was angry that she couldn't fight Satsuki, but it seemed that his friend Mako was quite happy about this, saying that they have an entire week off school." Mikisugi sighed scratching the back of his head. "I wonder if that girl understand this whole situation or not. Since Satsuki hided herself from the school, anarchy is spreading around."

Daniel didn't answer. He just sat back on the couch, sighing deeply. "Mikisugi, give me a second, I'm going to heal myself with my life fibers. Then we will continue with these data."

"Don't worry, there's no hurry." He answered.

Daniel layed his head back and crossed his arms. He closed his eyes, breathing slowly and focusing on himself. His life fibers were resonating to his thoughts and he used them to heal himself. Usually, they would do it on their own, but not when the damage was done by their usage. If he got an injury from a fight, it would heal in no time by itself. But that wasn't the case. He needed a few seconds to fully heal himself. Then, he resumed his work.

"I'm afraid you are wrong, Mikisugi." Daniel thought.


	10. Can't hold back

"Why did you brought them here?" Mikisugi asked.

Daniel sighed heavily. He had pinched Ryuko between her shoulder and her neck, sending her unconscious, doing the same with Mako. Since she was too much hyperactive, he had to pinch her a couple of times during the trip, but that wasn't the point.

"Just give me a break, Mikisugi. I thought it was for the best." Daniel answered. Ryuko was laying on the couch, while Mako was on the armchair, and both girls were still unconscious.

"I would gladly do it, Daniel… But with this, your cover…" Mikisugi started.

"If it means that I will be able to take care of her, then I don't care anymore about my cover." Daniel said interrupting him. He then took a small kit with some medical supplies and took care of some bruises Ryuko got when the guys back there were shooting to Gamagoori and his car.

Mikisugi sighed and crossed his arms. "Oh well… Whatever you say…" He then went to his kitchen and took his small bottle of sake. "What are you going to do then? You finally finished your researches."

"Ryuko's health is more important for now." He answered putting away his medical supplies. "_That_ can wait. A couple of days more won't change the final outcome."

"Man you are seriously acting strange." Mikisugi replied. He then took a sip from his bottle. "Like I said before… Whatever you say." He then went to his bedroom and sat on the bed. Since he left the door open, he could see Daniel without problems.

Meanwhile, Daniel sat on the floor near the couch, laying his back against the it. He turned his head to the right and watched Ryuko peacefully asleep. He smiled, glad that she didn't get injured seriously. Without taking his eyes off from her, he then raised his left arm a little, twisting his wrist so that his palm was facing the ceiling. After a couple of seconds, Mikisugi's bottle landed on it. He took a sip from it, closed it and threw it back at Mikisugi, who caught it without problems.

"What are you thinking, Daniel?" Mikisugi asked. However, before Daniel could answer, someone woke up.

"RYUKO!" Mako called out loudly.

Both Daniel and Mikisugi froze in place. The former slowly turned his head to face the other girl and saw that Mako already disappeared. Blinking a few times, he turned to face Ryuko again and he saw that Mako was about to slap her on her cheek. Daniel quickly caught her arm mid-air and, when the girl looked back at him, he sighed a little.

"Mako, please, calm down." He said.

"EEEHHH?" Mako shouted out shocked. "You are the one that brought us in his car!" She said. "How do you know my name? Where are we?" The girl was screaming so much that Daniel wondered on how Ryuko could still be asleep. He then placed his right hand on Mako's head and the girl stopped screaming, sitting down on the floor.

"There is a lot that need to be explained." Daniel said. "I will tell you everything if you promise me to stay quiet for a while."

Mako nodded lightly and Daniel started his explanation. He told her what happened since he became Isshin's Matoi bodyguard to the present. He avoided telling her that he was an hybrid between human and life fiber however.

He told her about Isshin's death. How he felt guilty for that. How he helped Ryuko whenever she needed it. How they talked togheter with some messages and how he needed to stay in the shadows, since it was Isshin's last order. The more he spoke, however, and the more feelings resurfaced. He told her everything, from that day until now. He didn't know why he explained her everything. But didn't want to know. He always trusted his instincts and he felt that it was necessary for Mako to know.

"Ryuko said that the scooter run out of gas, so I told her to wait for me… Then I saw that you two were hiding behind the car, trying to avoid the guns, so I just jumped in and brought you here." He said at the end.

Mako stood thoughtful for a moment. "There's one thing I didn't understand…" She paused. "Are you Daniel or Ted?"

"I'M DANIEL, DAMMIT MIKISUGI!" He answered shouting, while the other man tried his best to hold back his laughs but in avail.

"Daniel…" Mako started with one of her hallelujah moments. "I think that Ryuko will be glad to meet you. I always saw her checking her phone and smiling, sending some messages and then hiding it whenever I got close. She didn't want me to see them, but I always knew that she was talking with someone special that was making her happy, so I never questioned her. If you really are that person, you should show yourself! Don't worry about your promise to her father! You promised him to keep her safe and you did it until now! I think that he wouldn't have any problem if he was still alive!"

Mikisugi smiled a little, taking a sip from his bottle. "Scolded by an high school girl… And she managed to slap some sense inside him… Mako, you certainly are a strange girl…"

Daniel stood there, thinking about what she said. She was right afterall, but he felt that it wasn't time still. "I see…" he said. "I will think about this… Thank you, Mako."

"Don't worry…" Mako said waving her hand in front of her huge smile. "You are not that different from Ryuko afterall… Both of you just need someone cheering you up sometimes."

Daniel smiled. "You're right." He then turned his head to face Ryuko again. "Please, don't tell her about what happened here… I want to talk to her myself."

"Got it!" Mako said reassuring him.

He sighed in relief and smiled. "If I'm correct, there will be the final match of the Natural election in less than a week, right? I will come to see her fighting."

"Good!" Mako stated. Then, Daniel stood up and lifted Ryuko bride style, going outside. Mako followed him and saw that he was placing her friend in the front sit of Mikisugi's car, the same with which he brought them back.

"I will give you a lift back home." He said.

And so he did. Once he reached his destination, Mako took Ryuko with her and waved goodbye to Daniel. She waited a little for him to leave, then she tried to wake Ryuko up.

….

These remaining six days passed by in a blink of an eye. Ryuko and Daniel exchanged some messages about their days, in which she was enjoying some good and deserved rest, while he kept studying everything was necessary for his plan. Of course, he kept a close watch on Ryuko, reducing the time he could spent with Mikisugi, but he didn't care: His priority was her health, as he said the day before.

Ryuko asked him about the evening in which she and Gamagoori were attacked, but he just said that he had a problem and he couldn't come, so he asked Mikisugi to give her a lift. He also told her that she was angry, since Mikisugi sent Ted and since he used such a drastic measure, and Ryuko agreed with him. Of course, Ted rescued her, but was it really necessary to send her unconscious?

However, Ryuko was standing in the middle of the school courtyard, half-listening to Satsuki's speech, while Daniel was standing on the outer wall, midway between the school itself and the huge gate. Mikisugi stood at his side, and both were keeping an eye on Ryuko, while five pillars suddenly rose from the ground, as well as a large arena.

"Satsuki really surprised me this time." Mikisugi said. "She carefully planned everything, didn't she?"

"…"

"What's wrong Daniel?" Mikisugi said seeing that he was a little nervous. "Are you worried?"

"Yeah." He answered. "I keep having this strange feeling…"

"Well…" Mikisugi said. "I will go and exchange a final word with Ryuko. I will ask her to quit this. Do you have something to tell her?"

"Just tell her to be careful…" Daniel answered after a while. He wanted to tell her that he was here, watching the match, but he feared that it would have distracted her. Mikisugi then nodded and left, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

"I will be damned if something happens to you, Ryuko…" He thought.

….

As the match started, Ryuko founded herself in trouble. Every here and there, Daniel wanted to jump in the fight and help her, already unsheating his sword, but Mikisugi always raised an arm in front of him, telling him to wait. When Senketsu transformed back in a uniform and Ryuko was captured by Gamagoori's one, Daniel almost shoved away Mikisugi. He was about to jump when Gamagoori's screams stopped him halftrack. He then saw that Ryuko tore his uniform apart from the inside and finished him with her scissor blade.

"Good job." He simply stated sighing in relief.

"Man, you really are on the edge, aren't you?" Mikisugi asked. "Don't you trust her?"

"I trust her enough." Daniel answered. "But I already told you. My priority is her health. If she get too much in trouble, I will jump in, no matter what." He then went back to his position and resumed watching the match, as Ryuko's next opponent was Inumuta.

Ryuko had some trouble with him too, but she managed to handle him faster than Gamagoori. Probably because he was more focused on collecting data than fighting.

"Did he seriously retired from the match?" Mikisugi muttered. However, hidden by this behavior, he was seriously thoughtful about Ryuko. She developed a new form for Senketsu in the first fight. Now she learned to control Senketsu's life fibers. She was developing fast. Too fast.

"Can you excuse me? I have to call someone." Mikisugi said heading towards his class.

Daniel didn't pay any attention. He was too focused on Ryuko, who was starting her fight with Jakuzure. She seemed in trouble once again, since Jakuzure was flying, destroying the arena, but Ryuko quickly developed a new form which allowed her to fly too.

"Ryuko…" Daniel thought. "I seriously don't know… Should I be happy seeing how you grew up… Or worried… For how fast you are evolving?"

Ryuko tried to reach Satsuki, but Jakuzure just collided with her sending her away. They then resumed fighting and eventually Ryuko managed to ground her. With one mighty blow, then, she sent her off the arena.

"And this is done." Daniel thought while Mikisugi went back.

"What happened?" He asked as if he didn't see this match.

"Well…" Daniel started, but all the one star students watching the match stood up and clapped their hands all togheter, stopping him half sentence.

"What's happening?" Mikisugi said. "Why are they asking… For another show?... What the hell?"

Daniel immediately turned towards the arena, anger and concern in his eyes: Jakuzure was standing once again in the arena, wearing a different uniform.

"Man… She seriously is a stubborn girl." Mikisugi stated. Daniel just stood there, however, with his arms crossed, tightening his hands on his arms. When Jakuzure took out a cannon from her hat, he quickly unsheated his sword and went towards the edge of the wall. He was once again about to jump when Mikisugi caught him from his left arm.

"Let me go!" Daniel shouted. However, Mikisugi shook his head and pointed with his right hand towards the match. Daniel turned his face and he saw that Ryuko was deflecting Jakuzure's attacks. He freed his arm from Mikisugi's grasp, but he kept his sword unsheated.

"Calm down, Daniel." Mikisugi said with a serious tone. "You are too nervous. Calm down."

"You know I can't." Daniel said. Facing the arena once again, he saw that Ryuko quickly dispatched Jakuzure and that she was about to fight Sanageyama. The two opponents dashed towards each other, but mere inches before they could clash their swords, a girl appeared between them.

She had long blond hair in two ponytails behind her. She was wearing a pink dress, with pink boots and she had a pink umbrella in her right hand. When she turned to face Ryuko, Daniel saw that she had an eyepatch on her left eye.

Daniel immediately clenched his fist. "Who the fuck is she?" He asked while he saw that the strange girl destroyed Sanageyama's uniform and sent him off the arena with just one blow.

"Well…" Mikisugi muttered. "I…"

"Mikisugi!" Daniel shouted turning to face him. "Who the fuck is that girl?"

"She is Harime Nui…" Mikisugi started. However he stopped halftrack. Daniel sensed something was wrong, so he turned to face the arena once again and he froze in place. His hair on the back of his head slowly stood up for the huge amount of rage and electricity that were surging in his body.

Nui was in front of Ryuko with the other half of the scissor blade in her hand.

"Daniel…" Mikisugi called out weakly. "Don't…"

"Harime Nui…" Daniel said interrupting him. "All this time… All these data… My plan to find the killer…" He was trembling for the amount of force he put in his hands, one holding his sword and the other clenched.

"Daniel…" Mikisugi called again. "I don't think…"

"Shut up!" He shouted again, tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword even more. "She killed Isshin Matoi… She is the one I was looking for! I won't hold back!" He then readied his sword and jumped in the arena "Get ready! Harime!" His katana clashed against Nui's scissor blade and she looked surprised, as well as Ryuko.

"And who should you be?" Nui asked trying to push onward. However, Daniel stood his ground, much to her surprise. His eyes were filled with anger and fury strong enough that Nui seriously thought about not underestimating him.

"Ted?" Ryuko called out. She had two type of emotions on her face: Anger and surprise.

"I'M NOT TED, DAMNED MIKISUGI!" Daniel replied.

Nui giggled a little. "I don't care who you are. I don't have any business with you." She then twisted her blade, trying to push him away. Daniel saw this, tightened his grip and counterattacked, forcing Nui to jump backwards.

"You surely have business with me, bitch!" Daniel said. "You killed Isshin Matoi!"

"What… How do you know my father?" Ryuko asked shocked. "And for the records, whoever you are, stand aside! I'm the one who is going to kill this bitch!" She added returning to the angered self.

Daniel slowly raised his left hand, bringing it to his right shoulder. "Ryuko… I know your father…" He then took his cape off. "Because I was his bodyguard… Ryuko… I'm Daniel…"

While Ryuko's eyes widened in surprise, he slowly placed his fingers on a strange small circular button implanted in his right shoulder. A small symbol was printed on it: Both scissor blades, one close to the other, with both hilts in the upper part.

"First inhibitor… Strenght… Disabled…"


	11. Anger

Ryuko was utterly frozen in shock. Her mind was trying to process everything happened in a couple of minutes, but it was too much: At first, Satsuki was her enemy and she wanted to beat out some answers from her. Then Nui appeared and told her she killed her father. She screamed, transforming Senketsu in his battle form, but just when she was about to charge forward, Ted appeared clashing his sword with Nui. Then she revealed himself to be Daniel. He said he was his father bodyguard. And now she was fighting with Nui.

"Ryuko…" Senketsu called out. "Snap out of it."

Ryuko blinked a couple of times, then lowered her gaze on her kamui. Pushing aside her surprise, anger filled her eyes once again.

"Did you know about him?" She asked.

"Yeah." Senketsu answered. "That night, when we were attacked and Gamagoori defended us, Daniel took you away. I tried to talk with him, but he didn't seem to hear me. However, he brought you in a safe place, as well as your friend Mako. Once there, she woke up and Daniel explained her why he was hiding in the shadows. I heard their conversation. I didn't tell you anything because Daniel wanted to talk to you and I thought it was better to let him explain his reasons instead of telling you everything."

"You had to tell me instead!" She replied punching him near his eye. "You know how important is this for me!"

"I know, but I agreed with Daniel. It wasn't the right time."

As much as she hated to admit it, Senketsu and Daniel had a point. She didn't know how she would have reacted. "I will have to talk with Daniel for a while after this." She said. Raising her face once again, she saw that Daniel and Nui clashed their swords togheter, pushing as much as they could against each other.

"My, my, my…" Nui giggled. "First inhibitor, strenght, disabled?" She said trying to fake Daniel's voice. "True, you have the strenght, but it's still useless! Useless, useless, useless!"

"Damn you!" Daniel said pushing even more.

"You are just a small nuisance." Nui replied. She then disappeared and reappeared in front of Ryuko. "Mind to play with me?" She asked.

Ryuko quickly slashed her, but Nui just blocked the blade. "Come on! You can do better than this!" Nui teased.

"Fuck off!" Ryuko shouted out, slashing back and forth. Nui however just stood her ground, dodging and blocking all Ryuko's attempt to hit her.

"Oh come on! Even your father could do better than this!" She teased again.

"DON'T EVEN DARE TO TALK ABOUT HIM, BITCH!" Ryuko shouted angrily. She was about to strike again, but Daniel did it faster. Nui jumped backwards, laughing and Daniel resumed fighting with her.

"You are really bothering me now, you know?" Nui said with a creepy smile on her face. She then counterattacked, but Daniel dodged it. "What? You shouldn't be that fast!"

"Second inhibitor… Speed… Disabled…" He said slowly moving away his left hand from his left shoulder, revealing another small button similar to the first, but this time with the two scissor blades with the hilt towards the left side and pointing towards the right one.

Daniel smiled angrily and slashed her. Nui just jumped back. "You are still too slow!" She shout out.

"Are you sure?" Daniel said. He then pointed her with his left hand and when she checked what he was looking at, her eyes widened in anger: he managed to cut some of her hair, so her right ponytail was a little shorter than the left one.

"You… You are seriously bothering me now!" Nui screamed charging forward. However, before she could reach him, she was stopped by Ryuko, who stepped between them and slashed with her scissor blade. Nui raised her own blade and blocked the attack. "Ehy there, sweety!" She teased in a childish way. "Just wait for a minute, I will be right back!"

"To hell with that!" Ryuko shouted. "You are going to fight me and you are going to die!" Ryuko then rotate on herself and used the momentum to strike her with more force. Nui just dodged it again with a small jump backwards and Ryuko growled angrily. As she landed, Nui then leaned backwards, dodging Daniel's blade, who slashed right at her throat.

"Shadow strike!" He said coldly. Then, he disappeared just to reappear behind Nui, slashing his sword down. Nui however just rose her blade and blocked the attack. Spinning on herself, then, she kicked Daniel back towards Ryuko. Daniel quickly kicked the ground, spinning mid air, and used his blade to slow down to a stop before crushing into the girl.

"Ryuko! She is too strong for you! Get away!" Daniel called out.

"You! Stay out of my way!" Ryuko replied back. "I'm going to take my fucking revenge, no matter what!" She then charged forward and resumed her fight with Nui.

"My, my, my… Are you seriously trying to avenge your father like this? You will never manage to do it! Never, never, never, never!"

"JUST DIE! JUST FUCKING DIE" Ryuko screamed, unleashing a terrifying amount of rage.

"Ryuko! Stop it!" Senketsu pleaded in distress. "Your blood… It's too hot! Stop it Ryuko!" His eye resembled a spire for how fast it was spinning.

"It's useless!" Nui giggled. "You are not going to kill me! And I thought you could be funny! What a pity!" She then dodged a strike and lazily blocked another one, turning her head to the side and tapping her cheek with a finger. "Mmmh… I think I will just have to kill that boy… I suppose I can leave then…" She said with a smile.

Ryuko growled angrily. Much to her annoyance, Nui was blocking her every attempt to kill her without even focusing on the fight. She was seriously going to tear apart that bitch limb by limb.

"Ryuko! Stop it!" Daniel called out, dashing towards her, but it was too late: Without a warning, blood began to spray out from Senketsu. He then transformed into a giant monster, covered in blood and with huge and sharp fangs, who, after a growl that resembled a scream, lunged towards Ryuko, clamped his mouth on her and swallowed her entirely. Blood sprayed all around and a thick cloud of smoke rose from the ground, hiding Ryuko from everyone's sight.

"Fuck!" Daniel muttered angrily. "Too late!"

Nui giggled. "Let's see if she is still alive!" She said.

When the lingering smoke disappeared, Ryuko was utterly different: Her skin color had changed into a rich shade of periwinkle. Her face had stretched out in monstrous ways, while her teeth grew bigger and sharper. Teeth also had appeared on her skirt, resembling another huge mouth. Ryuko's neck had grown longer and her arms transformed too: Her right one fused completely with the scissor blade, while the left one had grown in size, taking a blockly shape.

With an animalistic growl, Ryuko dashed towards Nui, surfing on her own blood, and punched down. Nui just jumped backwards, dodging it completely, and the entire arena crushed in pieces under Ryuko's strenght.

"My, my, my… Even with that size, you sure are fast!" Nui giggled. "Not enough however!" She then was about to strike forward, but Daniel appeared next to her, courtesy of his shadow strike, and slashed his katana. Nui parried his strike without efforts and sidestepped, taking some distance from him.

"You… Bastard…" Daniel growled. He was about to charge him again when Ryuko dashed forward and swung her blade at him. Daniel quickly jumped backwards, but the force of the impact of Ryuko's blade on the ground created a strong wind that caught him off guard. He stumbled a little, trying to recover his balance, just to find himself face to face with Ryuko.

"Damn it…" He thought, using his katana as shield. However he wasn't fist enough and Ryuko's fist connected with his stomach, sending him into the wall, a couple of meters under Mikisugi.

"Are you alright, Daniel?" Mikisugi asked leaning forward.

"DO I SEEM SOMEONE WHO IS ALRIGHT?" He answered back. Sure, he was alright, his life fibers were healing him quickly, but he was still a little stunned. Ryuko was incredibly strong.

"If you say so…" Mikisugi said ignoring Daniel's outburst. "Daniel, I know what you think and I know that you won't like this. But we have to use it."

Daniel's eyes widened. "Don't even dare to use that bullet Mikisugi! I can save her!"

Mikisugi sighed. "I thought I already told you what your answer would have been. I will give you five minutes. Ryuko will die for blood loss afterwards. If you won't be able to save her, I will use the bullet. Whatever outcome it will have on her, it will be for the better: If she will die, it will be quick and painless. If she will survive, then she will be alright."

"Five minutes, got it." Daniel replied freeing himself. "It will be more than enough." He then used the wall as launch pod and, with a mighty push with his legs, he launched himself back in the arena. Once there, he saw Satsuki, already transformed in Junketsu, between Nui and Ryuko. He quickly reached her and stood back to back with her.

"Finally, I can meet you." Satsuki said without turning. "It's been a while since I found out about you."

"Inumuta's spy cam or My meeting with Sanageyama?" He asked.

"Both." Satsuki answered back. "Take care of the Grand Couturier. I will hold back Ryuko." She was about to sidestep and dash forward when Daniel stepped on her path.

"I'm sorry, but I made a promise." He then turned towards Ryuko, who was bleeding a lot. "Don't let Nui stand on my way please." He then took an offensive stance. "Shadow strike!"

When she saw Daniel disappearing, Satsuki smiled a little. "There are a lot of question I have to ask you, Daniel. Don't even try to die." She then turned back and stood against Nui, who was giggling like a child. "I thought you were forbidden to come here without advice!"

"Well…" Nui answered tapping her cheek with a finger again. "I can go anywhere I want and no one can stop me!" She then smiled in a creepy way. "Mind to play with me, Satsuki?"

While Satsuki was starting her fight with Nui, Daniel was having his hard time with the transformed Ryuko. Each time she tried to attack him, he dodged the strike just before it was about to hit him, but he couldn't strike back. Not because he wasn't fast enough, but because he couldn' bring himself to hit her.

"This will take something more than five minutes. I need to find a way to bring her back quickly." He thought, crouching under her blade. "Ryuko! It's me! Daniel! Snap out of it!" His pleads went unheard however, as she throw a mighty punch at him. He then raised his blade to stop it, but the strenght of the attack sent him flying backwards. When he stopped, recovering his balance, Ryuko already jumped towards him, slashing down with her blade again. Daniel sidestepped and jumped away just in time to avoid it.

"Damn it!" He thought. Daniel heard a small buzz in his left hear, then the voice of Mikisugi reminded him about the time. "Three minutes left Daniel. Be fast!" Daniel brought his left hand on the small device. "I know damn it! Warn me when I have no time!" He shouted back before preparing himself again.

Ryuko dashed forward. Daniel was almost caught off guard, since he was speaking with Mikisugi, but he managed to defend himself. "I can't hit her…" He thought. "But I can't go on like this… I'm sorry Ryuko…" He then blocked Ryuko's blade with his own and rose his left hand. "Forgive me…" He said punching her in the chest. She stumbled back a little, but she quickly recovered. She was about to rush forward again when a very familiar voice could be heard in the air.

"RYUKOOO!" Mako called out jumping from his father's three-wheeled wagon. She then dashed towards her friend at incredible speed and hugged her tightly, ignoring the burning sensation on her skin.

"How the fuck they arrived here?" Daniel deadpanned. His confusion worsened when Mako started a very strange speech, taking different forms and shapes that a normal human would never be able to imitate. Moreover, her found strange that Ryuko still haven't tried to hit her, but she just tried to shake her off.

Call it fate. Call it karma. Call it whatever you want, but as Daniel finished his thought and Mako finished her speech, Ryuko rose her blade in the air to strike Mako down. Daniel quickly dashed forward and used his shadow strike to parry the attack.

"One minute left!" Mikisugi told him through the ear-device.

"I don't know what Mako said." Daniel said quietly, but loud enough to be heard. "But I think you should stop now!" Daniel then punched Ryuko in her face as strong as he could. Ryuko's neck leaned awkwardly backwards with a loud crack and blood sprayed out from it. Daniel thought that he could have done something wrong, but then Ryuko begun transforming back to herself, with Senketsu still in his battle form. Mako took some steps backwards, but Daniel stood his ground.

When Ryuko completely transformed back and the smoke faded away, she tried to take some steps forward, trying to keep her balance. However she stumbled and fell onward. Daniel caught her in his arms before she could hit the ground and slowly knelt down on his left knee. Laying her gently on the ground, he layed her back against his right leg, holding her shoulders and head with his arm.

Ryuko slowly opened her eyes. Her sight was blurt, but she could understand who was holding her. "D… Daniel?" She called weakly.

"Yeah… I'm here…" He answered quietly with a smile.

"I'm sorry…" She said. "I… I just…"

"Don't worry." He stopped her, wiping away the small tears that were slowly rolling down her cheeks. "It's alright now. You are safe."

"Thank… You…" Ryuko smiled tiredly.

"Close your eyes now." He said slowly. "You lost a lot of blood. Get some, rest, I will think about everything else."

She nodded weakly. Closing her eyes and exhaling out, she felt her consciousness slipping away. Passing out, the entire world around her disappeared. However, she kept feeling one thing. One single thing that made her smile.

Daniel's warm embrace.


	12. Having a small talk

**A.N. = Get ready guys because from now on, things will get different! Let me know what you think with a review please.**

Ryuko slowly opened her eyes. It was a somewhat hard task as she felt herself completely devoid of strenght. The daylight was hurting her eyes a little, but after a minute she got used to it. Her sight was still a little blurry, but she managed to understand what she was looking at: Her lower and fiddle field of view was filled by the ceiling of what she recognized to be Mako's room, while her upper field of view was filled by Daniel's chest, shoulders and face, as well as the upper part of his arms. Slowly recovering her senses, she realized that she was laying in her futon wearing her pajama. Her mouth was dry, as well as her throat, so when she couldn't speak well. When she tried to get Daniel's attention, she just let out a small groan.

"Ehy there." Daniel whispered. "Welcome back to the living world." He chuckled. "Are you thirsty?"

Ryuko smiled, while a little shadow of blush covered her face, and nodded. As always, Daniel already knew what she needed.

"Alright. Here, let me help you. Just don't move." He slowly placed his left hand on the back of his head, gently pushing upwards, and took a glass of water with his right one. Carefully bringing its edge to Ryuko's mouth, he slowly poured some water into her mouth. When she finished drinking, Daniel put aside the glass and layed her head back on the pillow. Then he placed his right hand on the side of her head, slowly caressing her. He was sitting with his legs crossed and the pillow was placed on his legs.

"Thank you." Ryuko said weakly.

"You are welcome." Daniel answered.

"What's that?" She asked. Her voice come out weak again. Even if she drank some water, she felt her throat dry still, but it was better than before. When he rose her head, however, she saw that a small IV was connecting her left arm with his left one.

"You lost a lot of blood back there, Ryuko." He explained as her memories resurfaced. "You needed a transfusion, but Barazo didn't know what your blood type is. We opted for a O negative, but he didn't have it. Luckily, I'm O negative, so there were no problems. This is a particular IV. With this, I can give you my blood without worring about a possible back-flow. In other words, my blood will flow inside you while your blood will remain in your body."

Ryuko's blush became slightly more visible. "Th… Thank you…" She blurted out.

"No need to thank me." Daniel chuckled once again. "You should get some rest now." He said without stopping the small, gentle caresses he was doing. "I bet you are quite sore."

Once again, he was right. When Ryuko tried to move even a little her arms or her legs, she thought that 'sore' was quite an understatement: She was utterly exhausted. "You are right." She chuckled, slowly closing her eyes. However, when Daniel inadvertently caressed behind her right ear scratching the spot a little, she let out a small moan. Ryuko immediately blushed like a mad, while Daniel just laughed quietly.

"I think I found your weak spot." He said. Ryuko however was too embarrassed to speak. She really liked it. Of course, it wasn't a moan of sexual pleasure. It was a simple moan of something she enjoyed, but she was embarrassed since it happened so suddenly.

Embarrass or not, she didn't want something so enjoyable to stop, so she leaned her head on the side a little, nudging it on Daniel's hand. "Do… Do you think… You can…" She tried to say, stumbling on every word.

"Of course." He whispered with a smile, scratching again that spot. Ryuko let out a small sigh and groaned, enjoying Daniel's caresses. She relaxed under his watch, a feeling of protection coursing through her body. She slowly slipped into a half-sleep half-awake state. She was unaware of her surroundings, but well aware of herself and Daniel. It didn't take long for her to completely fell asleep with a small smile on her face.

Daniel chuckled again at Ryuko's light snorting. Never stopping the small scratches behind her right ear, he slowly averted his gaze on Senketsu, who was hanging outside the wardrobe, looking at him with his eye.

"Don't worry, Senketsu." Daniel said quietly to not wake up the girl, but loud enough to be heard. "She will be fine."

Senketsu closed his eye, thinking about him for a while. Then, he re-opened it. "Thank you for taking care of Ryuko. She won't be here if it wasn't for you." However, his eye widened in surprise when he saw Daniel nodding at him. "Wait… Can you hear me?" He asked.

"I always could." Daniel answered. Since he couldn't anymore hid in the shadows, there was no reason to keep this secret. He chuckled seeing Senketsu's reaction. He expected him to be surprised, but he was even more than what he thought. "You should see your face, Senketsu. It's priceless."

"But… How… How can you hear me?" Senketsu asked, ignoring his last sentence. At this, Daniel suddenly became serious and Senketsu could feel it. He didn't expected a sudden change of behavior from him. He thought that, as Mikisugi, he would have tried to avoid the question with a dumb behavior. Instead, he was quite surprised, as well as glad, to see that Daniel was willing to answer his question.

"I was there when your life fibers were sew togheter." He explained. "I know a lot about you, Senketsu. Maybe even more than what you think to know about yourself. This is even about Ryuko: I know some things about her that she can't even imagine." He paused, letting out a tired sigh. "I'm willing to answer your questions, Senketsu, as well as Ryuko's. But if you are going to ask about something both of you are not ready to hear, then I'm afraid I will have to ask you to change question. Forgive me about this."

"I see…" Senketsu said. His eye was closed, as he let Daniel's words sink in his mind. When he opened his eye once again, he decided that, even if he wanted to know a lot of things, he would have started with something easy. "I have a few questions if you don't mind."

"Don't worry. Just ask. I already told you that I will answer if I can."

"Why my right eye is sewn close?" Senketsu asked.

"To seal a portion of your strenght." Daniel answered. "You are much stronger than what you think Senketsu. When you were created, Isshin was afraid that you were too powerful. Sealing in your right eye a large part of your power level, he reduced your overall strenght to the total of ten percent of your real level. I think he did the right choice: If it wasn't for this, probably Ryuko would have died the first time she wore you."

Senketsu stood there breathless, a noticeable feat for a living begin that didn't need to breath. "Am I really… That powerful?" He muttered.

"Yeah." Daniel answered. "And this lead to another question: Is it safe for Ryuko to wear me? First I need to explain you about those glowing fibers that you absorb whenever Ryuko destroy a ultima uniform. They are the nexus threads."

"Nexus… Threads?" Senketsu asked.

"Exactly. It's a special fiber, imbued by the so called 'will to be clothing'. Every ultima uniform has one of these. Kamui, however, have more of them, but that's not the point. Whenever you absorb one of them, a portion of your sealed power is freed. I can't give you a precise information, but I think to be accurate enough when I say that you are round the fifty percent of your overall strenght."

"Fifty percent…" Senketsu repeated. While he was glad to hear that both he and Ryuko could become stronger, there was something bothering him. "You said that the first time Ryuko wore me, she would have died if I hadn't my power sealed, but from the way you speaking about these threads, I suppose something changed, isn't it?"

"Exactly. While at her actual level she still won't be able to stand your full strenght without side effects, when you absorb the nexus thread of a uniform the change in your power level isn't high enough to cause problems. She will just have to get a little used to it."

"That's why Mikisugi asked us to get stronger fighting the club presidents…" Senketsu realized. Thinking about it for a while, he decided to raise the bet just a bit. "Who am I?"

Daniel sighed. "I'm afraid I can't answer this question yet. You are not ready for this. I'm sorry." He lowered his gaze to the sleeping Ryuko. Her small smile on her face and the look of peace she had while he was slowly scratching behind her right ear made him smile too. "The only thing I can say for now is that you are her friend. And for this, I'm really grateful."

"Grateful?" Senketsu asked.

"Yeah. You heard whole story when I explained it to Mako."

"Yes… I remember…" Senketsu's eye closed once again, recollecting his words back at Mikisugi's place. It was an habit he developed when he went into a state of deep and serious thinking. And since Daniel was giving him enough informations to think about, he found himself closing and opening his eye quite a lot of times. "Changing the topic… When you fought Harime Nui, you attached her with a very fast attack…"

"Shadow strike." Daniel interrupted him. "It's nothing special, trust me." Daniel admitted. "I just dash towards the enemy before he realize my move."

"That's not what I'm asking." The kamui stated. "I understood that the main and only advantage of such technique is the great speed. What I was asking is something that left me a bit confuse: Before unleashing that strike, you said something like… How was it… Inhibitor disabled?"

Daniel sighed tiredly once again. He remained silent for a minute, recalling his memories about his trainings and about Isshin injecting the life fibers inside his body. Senketsu waited patiently, sensing that Daniel needed a small amount of time to recollect himself.

"I exchanged part of my humanity for this power, Senketsu." He explained. "While someone could blame fate for making such an event necessary, I won't. I was given the chance to reject, but I accepted it. I felt that I needed to do this in order to better fulfill my task and I still belive it. However, there were some… Drawbacks… I don't think it is the right word, since there wasn't any problem. Truth to be told, everything went fine. Everything was perfect. Maybe too much. That's what I mean with drawbacks."

"If I may ask, what did you do?" While Senketsu was asking it out of curiosity, he wasn't unaware of Daniel's uneasiness.

"I fused my body with life fibers." Daniel waited for a minute, letting Senketsu to overcome the shock. "Usually, to achive my actual level, a human begin need to be merged with life fibers in the first four weeks of life. The only living exceptions about this fact are me and Satsuki's mother, Kyruin Ragyo, with living being the key word. I was granted a huge amount of power. Maybe too much. Eventually, Ryuko's father, who was the person injecting the life fibers in my body, told me that I needed to install some inhibitors to reduce my power. Since then, I trained as much as I could to be finally able to hold back by myself, but still I find it a hard task." Daniel then shook his head. He was trailing off from the topic the kamui wanted to hear. "Shadow strike is a very powerful, and yet simple, technique. I'm able to use it releasing the inhibitor that reduce my overall speed, but I need to unlock my strength too in order to achive its full potential."

Senketsu nodded, understanding why Daniel changed the topic from his past to his shadow strike technique. "I'm quite interested in your capabilities, Daniel. May I ask you to tell me more? I would like to see if there's something I can learn."

Daniel chuckled. He was smiling again, much to Senketsu's relief. "Perhaps, Senketsu..." He then mumbled lowly something. He was trying to think something that could be useful for the kamui. "Maybe it will be easier for me if you tell me your strengths and weaknesses. Obviously, I won't force you about it, it's just a thought of mine."

Senketsu thought about it for a moment. Strenghts and weaknesses were two dangerous topics to talk about. If someone was eavesdropping the conversation, troubles were sure to find them. Of course, that couldn't be said for them, since there were only two people able to hear him and one of them was sleeping in front of him, gently cuddled by the second one. In case he needed a proof about his loyalty, a quick glance towards a certain IV slowly transfusing his blood inside Ryuko's body was proof enough.

"Alright. For what concern my strengths, I think my raw force is the main feat, followed by my defensive capabilities. I won't hide my pride in saying that very few attacks manage to hurt Ryuko when she is fighting. Then, there are speed and endurance. I don't excel in both of them, but my actual level seems to be enough. About my weaknesses, I'm still lacking any kind of ranged attack, but I really don't care about this: Ryuko seems to be more inclined for the melee and I agree with her. However, something that I think I could find useful is a more advanced healing ability: When Ryuko fought against Junketsu and the three stars ultima uniforms, she got seriously injured. Being able to heal her during the fight will greatly increase her chance of success. I think these are the main problems for now. If I am to pinpoint another weakness, I would ask you to think about my fight with Harime Nui. Even if it was a small exchange of blows, she utterly outmatched us." Senketsu explained. While he found easy to describe his strengths, he found quite hard to describe his weaknesses.

Daniel listened to everything the kamui said before thinking about it. "I don't think that developing an healing configuration is a bad idea, but you need to be careful since it will reduce both speed and power. However, if you manage to buy enough time, it can become really helpful." He adviced. "Maybe it's better if you learn to heal Ryuko better while fighting in other configurations. I think you need something to increase your actual abilities. I already have an idea for a new configuration, but first I need you to unlock some of your power…" As he said this, he slowly took reverse knife. "As I told you before, when you absorb the nexus threads a portion of your sealed power is unlocked. It works with other types of life fibers too…" With this, he suddenly stabbed his left shoulder. "Of course, the nexus threads give you more power than standard life fibers, but I think that you will find these quite stronger…" Daniel slowly took out his knife from his shoulder and, before the wound closed, he tore away from his muscle some life fibers. Averting his gaze once more towards Senketsu, while his wound healed and the life fibers inside him stitched back as if nothing happened, he rose his right arm towards him. Letting the life fibers go, he watched as Senketsu absorbed them.

When Senketsu absorbed the nexus threads, he always released a small pink light. With time he got used to it. As he saw Daniel letting go that small amount of life fibers, he expected to feel a different feeling. He didn't expected it, however, to be so different.


	13. Overnight training

Ryuko suddenly woke up in the night. Drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, she immediately sat up and cupped her right eye with her right hand. Her eyes were wide open. This was her first night after waking up from passing out. Actually, while she was unconscious, Daniel stood by her side for an entire night. She took twenty hours to recover. Then, Daniel told her to rest a little more and she fell asleep even if it was afternoon.

"Damn it." She thought. Her nightmare was very vivid. It almost seemed real. Slowly calming down, she closed her eyes, forcing herself to breath normally. Eventually, with a last deep sigh, she managed to slow down her racing heart. Taking a look to her hands, she saw that they were still trembling. She couldn't remember quite well what she was dreaming, but she knew it was something horrible. Deciding that she needed some fresh air, she looked around, scanning the area for Senketsu.

"Where the fuck did he go?" She asked herself seeing that Senketsu wasn't in the room. "Maybe Sukuyu is hand-washing him. She always do it during the night." With an annoyed groan, she took the same clothes she was wearing when she first arrived in the city. She had a strange feeling of home-sickness when she wore them. These were the same clothes she wore when she found Senketsu… The same clothes she wore when fighting the world to survive… The same clothes she wore when she found her father dying…

Casting aside the sadness that was building up in her chest, she silently left the room, heading towards the main door. It wasn't an hard task, since her months as a homeless constantly required her to sneak around. Of course, Daniel constantly bought her enough food, always leaving it next to her when she was sleeping, but he couldn't help her when she was sneaking inside a building to get some sleep in a warm place. Strange enough, no one ever found and robbed her while she was sleeping. Moreover, no one ever stole the food Daniel bought her.

Quietly and slowly opening the door, she silently went outside and closed it behind her. The cold breeze sent a little shiver through her back, but she liked it. It was exactly what she needed and wanted. Placing her hands inside the pockets of her jacket, she took a walk around. Her mind was still focusing on the events that took place during the natural elections and her nightmare and she wanted to trail off from it. Reminding herself to talk about it with Senketsu, she tried to focus on other matters.

After ten minutes of aimless walking, another shiver run through her back. Surely the air was getting colder. Raising her gaze towards the sky, she wondered if coming back or not. It was a beautiful sight: Not even a single cloud was covering the sky and even the farthest stars could easily be seen.

"A moonless night." Ryuko whispered. For the first time since her father's death, she found herself enraptured by the beauty of the sky. She smiled a little, but a strange noise caught her attention. Immediately her senses came to alert and her instincts kicked in. Turning around taking a defensive stance, she relaxed seeing that it was just a cat wandering around for food. Noticing it was discovered, it quickly fled away.

Ryuko sighed deeply. "Damn it. I'm really on the edge." Deciding that it was enough, she went back towards Mako's place. She decided to use the backdoor: If Sukuyu was hand-washing Senketsu, she was sure that she would have found them there. Smiling at the idea of Senketsu screaming for help because Mako's mother was squeezing him too hard, she turned the corner and stopped half-track surprised, hiding behind it: She didn't expected to find Daniel there.

He was upside down, sustaining his weight with his hands, pushing himself up and down and facing away from the house, giving his left side and back to Ryuko. He was wearing nothing more than his jeans and the light of a small lamp allowed Ryuko to see the sweat covering his back. Scattered around him, there were a lot of training weight, as well as a target and a couple of dummies for sword training. Even if Ryuko saw them just once, inside a dojo during a kendo training, she could tell that they were different. She didn't understand why, but she had that feeling.

"Nine thousand nine hundred ninety-eight…" Daniel whispered. He didn't know that Ryuko was there, since he was blindfolded, so he went on with his trainings. "Nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine…" Ryuko saw that, even if blindfolded, he was looking straight were the ground was. In front of him, there were some metal parts. She didn't know what they were, let alone the item from which they came from. "Ten thousand." Daniel said. Then, everything happened almost too fast for Ryuko: She managed to understand what Daniel did just because he was training. Daniel immediately pushed with more strenght, leaping backwards and landing on his feet. It seemed that he pressed something, because right when he touched the ground, the small metal parts were thrown upwards in the air. With an incredible speed, he quickly turned around and mounted each part togheter. Eventually, he was holding his gun in his hand and, right when he mounted the muzzle as last piece, he shot to the target. Ryuko saw Daniel shooting three bullets but, turning towards the target, she saw only two holes, one of which was a little bigger than the other.

"Damn it." Daniel muttered without taking off the grey bandana from his eyes. "Too slow."

"Three point two hundred seventeen seconds. I doubt you were too slow." Senketsu stated from somewhere.

"Trust me, I was." Daniel replied. "I need to halve the time at least." He then took off his bandana and reached out for his sword, approaching a training dummy. "If I don't get faster, there will be very little to do for me in the incoming fights." Pressing a button on the dummy's forehead, he took a defensive stance as the dummy began rotating quickly. It had three metal planks on the chest. From the top, the first and the last were rotating from Daniel's left to his right. The middle one instead was spinning from his right to his left. Two more planks were rotating with opposite spin on the Dummy's leg, one near the knees and one over the ankles.

"I understand your concern, Daniel, but you don't need to push yourself so much. It's already been six hours since you begun training. It's midnight. You should get some rest." Senketsu muttered.

"Don't worry, Senketsu." He said speeding up his reaction time against the dummy. "I will rest when I will have trained enough. I won't let something like… That… Happen to Ryuko again." Then, in a blink of an eye, he deflected a metal plank and struck the dummy. However, he used to much strenght and his katana destroyed it. "Damn. Mikisugi will seriously be upset. Oh well, if he once again try to scowl me stripping down I will just have to punch him as always." Sheating is sword and placing it aside, he approached the second dummy. It was similar to the first, but this time the metal planks were shorter and the two on the legs were moved on the chest, so he used it for his hand-to-hand trainings.

"Is he… Talking with Senketsu?" Ryuko asked herself. She eavesdropped their conversation and when she understood that Daniel could hear her kamui her eyes widened in surprise. Even if she needed to talk with him, she decided to hid for a little more, curious about their conversation. She didn't know why she was hiding. Truth to be told, she just wanted to rush outside and ask him all her questions. But what should she say? She couldn't go there saying that she didn't need a bodyguard because it would hurt Daniel's feelings. Moreover, her last fight with Harime Nui was proof that she wasn't strong enough and that she needed help. The sudden noise of metal against skin brought her back to reality. Looking towards Daniel she saw that he was sitting on the ground, rubbing his left cheek.

"Damn it." He laughed. "I thought I stopped it." He then stood up again and resumed his training with the dummy, which was spinning incredibly fast.

"Stop it, Daniel." Senketsu said. "You couldn't parry that blow because you are still recovering from the transfusion. You gave a lot of your blood to Ryuko, so your speed and reaction time is lower than your standards. You will seriously injure yourself." Even if he was calm, his voice betrayed his concern for Daniels health.

"I don't need you to remind me about it." Daniel stated stopping the dummy and taking a bottle of water. "Besides…" He then took a long sip. "If you want me to stop training, then ask Ryuko to come out from the corner over here. I'm pretty sure she wants to talk to me."

Both Ryuko and Senketsu gasped in surprise. "Ryuko?" Senketsu called out. Hesitantly, the girl came out from where she was hiding. "How did you know I was there?" She asked.

"Years of trainings develop your senses, you know?" Daniel chuckled, turning around to face her. "How are you? It seems you recovered well." He asked taking another sip.

"Fine… I think…" Ryuko answered. "Well… When you said I want to talk to you… Actually… I don't know what to ask first…" She admitted scratching her right cheek with a finger. Lowering her head to hid the small blush that was appearing on her face for seeing Daniel not wearing a shirt, she placed her hands back inside her pockets since another shiver run through her back. However, this time it was stronger, so her small trembles were easily noticed by Daniel.

"It seems that you are suffering the cold." Daniel stated with a smile. "You should have wore something warmer." This last sentence earned from Senketsu a sigh. "You are the last person that should say something like this." Senketsu said rolling his eye. "Since you are shirtless, it will be very hypocrite from you."

Daniel let out a small laugh. "I think you are right, Senketsu. But to tell you the truth, the training warmed me up enough, so I don't feel much cold." He said crossing his arms. Then, he turned towards Ryuko. "Shall we go inside? I guess you have a lot of questions."

Ryuko nodded without rising back her head. She didn't know why, but she couldn't stand his gaze. There was something in his eyes that scared and attracted her at the same time. She wasn't even sure she wanted to know what it was. She already had too many surprises during the natural elections and she still trying to understand everything. However, she went inside, heading to the bathroom to change herself into her pajama, while Daniel took a quick bath outside. Then, they went to her small part of the shared bedroom and Daniel sat near her futon, while Ryuko layed down on her side. She let out a small yawn and Daniel smiled. Slowly, he reached out his hand and begun caressing her head, scratching the same spot behind the ear of the other time. As expected, Ryuko closed her eyes with a smile, enjoying that moment with a small moan. This time however she didn't blush embarrassed. She knew it would have happened.

They stood in silence for a couple of minutes. Daniel was waiting for her to ask whatever question she had, but Ryuko seemed to think only about the bliss coming from his gentle scratching. As her breath begun to slow down, he wondered if she was still awake or not. It was very late after all. He tried to whisper her name, but she didn't answer. With a smile, he shook his head. "You still haven't fully recovered, have you?" He thought standing up again. He was about to leave when Ryuko, unconsciously grabbed him by his ankle. When he saw this, Daniel smiled. Without a word, he crouched down and layed pulling her in a warm embrace and covering both of them with the blankets.

"Just for this time." He thought.


	14. Beating linked hearts

**A.N. = Sry guys, i know the topic of this chapter keeps repeating, but this is because i was trying to put emphasis on it and because i was thinking about another story (damn you brain xD ) and i couldn't focus completely on this chapter.  
>The new story is called "Kill la Kill: Earn Your Grades" and it's my first attempt for a college AU (because i found an interesting pic and the more i thought about it the more i came up with the idea of this story) and the first chapter has already been released. Please check it up<strong> **and let me know what do you think with a small**** review. It something that take you almost 30 seconds but that gives me enough motivation to keep going.**

**Thanks for your support! Enough small talk, back to business!**

Ryuko woke up very slowly. Her futon was warmer than usual and it was very pleasant feeling. Her pillow, however, felt a bit less comfortable, but since she was got used to sleep on the ground, while she was a vagrant, she still found it like a cloud. The blankets were heavier than usual and gave her a feeling of safeness and protection that she never experienced. She rolled on her left side and frowned a little when she felt that her arm ended laying on somebody's abdomen, while her heart was laying between the chest and the shoulder. However, she didn't mind nor she cared at all. Even if she was on the wrong side, she could hear pretty well the slow beating of this somebody's heart, which filled her with peace, washing away all the stress she gathered in these past days. Moreover, it was amplifying all the feelings of comfort, safeness and protection she had. Ryuko smiled, almost asleep, never opening her eyes. In her last few moments of consciousness she felt this somebody caressing her head. He scratched behind her ear a little, giving her the final push to fully drift into sleep.

Daniel watched her with a kind look in his eyes. When Ryuko rolled on her side, clinging on him, he couldn't suppress a smile. Carefully sliding his arm from under the pillow to caress her head, scratching behind her ear, as he already did before, he almost chuckled when he heard Ryuko emitting that strange noise that reminded him of a purring cat. She seemed to be at peace and this sent him a wave of relief: He saw how Ryuko was tired, beaten up and stressed in these past days. Finally seeing her resting well was somehow warming his heart. His smile, however, disappeared when he remembered his promise: He told Isshin that he would have not let Ryuko discover about his existence. He felt like if he betrayed Isshin's trust in him. He sighed tiredly. It was useless to cry over spilled milk. What was done was done and he needed to focus on more important matters: Protect Ryuko and cripple Ragyo's plan. Both required him to improve his abilities and he had very little time.

Ryuko mumbled in her dreams, stopping Daniel's train of thought. Focusing again on her, Daniel saw that she was drooling a little, mumbling something on her dream that made no sense. Chuckling, Daniel wrapped his right arm a little tighter around her, pulling her a little more in that sudden embrace. He wanted to keep his promise at all costs. If something bad would have happened to her, he surely would have made everything to prevent her from getting hurt.

The door suddenly opened and Daniel, as quick as possible, took his gun from his side and pointed it towards whoever was entering the room. He sighed when he saw that it was just Mako, who was trying to hold back her screams. When Daniel put away his weapon, Mako immediately got closer.

"Why did you do that?" She was throwing her arms around, trying to put emphasis in her questions. "And why are you embracing Ryuko? In her bed? Is she cold? Sick? Ill?" She then cupped her mouth with her hands, widening her eyes. "Are you two lovers? Did you do what I think you did doing that?" She then lifted her arms in the air, while a sudden chorus of voices shouted an HALLELUJA in the air and a beam of light came from nowhere directly on her.

Daniel, who at the beginning just deadpanned, became extremely red, shocked by what she was implying. When he heard that chorus of voices and saw her strange position, he didn't know what was going to happen. However, he had to strange feeling that he needed to stop her somehow, otherwise he would seriously regret it. Rapidly placing his left hand on her mouth, managing to stop her from talking, he sighed. He was doing it quite often that morning and he wanted to stop right now.

"I would like to answer all your questions at once, but since I forgot them I will just go straight to the point." He said looking back at Ryuko. "We talked for a while yesterday night. She had a nightmare, so she couldn't sleep. It seemed that my presence put her at peace and she manage to fell asleep again. When I stood up to leave, she unconsciously grabbed my ankle. Then, I layed down and fell asleep too. That's all." He explained. Looking back to Mako, it seemed that she understood what he said. He slowly brought back his hand, freeing her mouth. The girl just stood there, looking at him for a minute or so.

"Mako? Did you understand?" Daniel asked a little worried.

-HAAAAAALLELUJAAA-

"Oh shit!" Daniel exclaimed trying to stop the girl once again. Placing his hand on her mouth again, it seemed that the girl went into stand-by mode. "Mako, I already explained you what happened. Can you please say what you are going to say quietly and normally? Ryuko is still sleeping and I would like her to keep resting seeing what kind of events she face recently."

Moving away his hands, he saw that this time he got a point: Mako slowly let her arms fell back at her sides and nodded. "Alright. I was about to say that I got a wrong idea and that you showed my the truth. Oh, and I was going to explain you my idea. If you want, I can do it now!" She said.

"No!" Daniel eyes went wide for a moment, then he went back to his normal self. "I mean, thanks Mako, but I think I will pass for now."

"Alright!" She then stood there smiling for a couple of minutes, without saying a word not moving.

"Is there something else, Mako?" Daniel asked.

"Nope!"

Daniel blinked a couple of times.

"Wait! Yes there is!" Mako said suddenly remembering why she came there in first place. "Mom told me to call the both of you for launch! What should I tell her?"

Daniel looked at her for a moment, then he turned towards Ryuko. "Ask her if it is possible to eat later. I would like to let her sleep some more." He said with a smile. "I think she will be hungry, so ask her if it's possible to have a large part of her croquettes please."

"Alright! Consider it done!" And with that, Mako dashed outside, leaving Daniel puzzled by her behavior.

"She surely is a strange girl…"' He thought. "But she makes you smile as well, right?" Of course Ryuko couldn't know what happened since she was sleeping like a rock, but when Daniel layed back she once again unconsciously wrapped her right arm around him.

….

Ryuko woke up again a couple of hours later. Opening her eyes, she found herself laying on her side, with her upper body on Daniel's chest and her head nudged between his neck and his left shoulder, right under his head. His left hand was supporting his head, while his right hand was gently caressing her hair, scratching her head a little. Her first reaction was another growl that resembled a purring cat. Then, she immediately shot up, pressing her palms on the ground to lift herself from his body. The embarrassed look she had on her face was enough to make Daniel chuckle a little, deepening the shade of red that was already burning her cheeks.

"Ehy there!" He whispered. "Slept well?"

"I… Err… Well…" She stammered, but since she was nervous she couldn't form a sentence.

Daniel chuckled again. "Relax. It's alright." He said, slowly pulling her down. Ryuko let him guide her on his chest once again. As he resumed caressing her, she could feel his heart beating slowly but steady.

"Thank you." Ryuko said with a low voice.

"Don't worry. Are you hungry?" He asked, earning a nod from her. "Alright. I told Mako to come back later about thirty minutes ago. When she will be there, I will ask her to bring something to eat."

Ryuko nodded again. The burning fire under her skin literally set her cheek ablaze, but it was slowly fading away. The more she heard his heart, the more she calmed down. However, there were some questions she wanted to ask him that bothered her mind, but she didn't want to break away from that moment of peace. There was one question, however, that could be asked.

"Why can you hear Senketsu's voice?"

Daniel chuckled. "I was there when your father created him. I gave him some help with the project and eventually he used my dna for the final steps."

"I don't understand…" Ryuko frowned. "What does it mean?"

"That was one of the topic we were talking about." Daniel replied. "I can't fully understand it myself. We agreed to drop the topic when we realized that we wouldn't have been able to understand it. Then, we talked about my training. After a while you arrived, hiding behind the corner."

"Yeah… Sorry about that…"

"Don't worry." He smiled.

"Is there a way for me and Senketsu to become as strong as you are?" More than a question, Ryuko seemed pleading.

"I don't know." Daniel answered bluntly. "But I know something: When you will wear Senketsu again, you will feel a little different. You will have to get used to him again, but eventually you will feel stronger."

Ryuko nodded, thinking he was referring to the fact that she went berserker, hurting her friend just to get her vengeance. She couldn't know that he was speaking about the modifications and improvements he applied on the kamui. She also didn't know about his new configuration, courtesy of Daniel.

The duo went silent once again. They didn't feel the need to speak anymore. Of course, Ryuko's questions still bothered her to no end, but she never felt so comfortable. No battles to face… No enemies to beat… No people to fight for a damn answer…

Just… Tranquility…

It was pleasant. Ryuko closed her eyes again, sighing deeply. Daniel's reassuring presence was something that she never experienced before. The warmth of his embrace… His hand gently scratching her head… The world around her slowly seemed to fade away. Her heart was slowing down, as well as her breath. Focusing on the slow movement his chest did when he inhaled and then exhaled, she relaxed a little more…

And more…

And more…

Suddenly, in her mind, a strange scene began to appear. She was standing near a fallen column, looking at the body of a girl asleep on the ground. Her body began to move on its own and she could control it. With great agility, she jumped over a destroyed wall, landing in the same place where the girl was resting. The whole area looked terrible familiar, as well as the girl herself. When she turned to face her, her face was just a blur, as well as her surroundings. She caressed her gently. Even if she couldn't see herself, she knew she was smiling. When she placed a small box near the girl, with a letter inside, and placed a pillow under her head, covering her with a blanket, dread struck her hard: She was looking at herself, while that place, which was so familiar, was what remained of her burned house.

Ryuko's heart begun beating faster. She inhaled sharply and the vision disappeared. Coming immediately to a sitting position, she found herself unable to breath properly.

"Ryuko! What's the matter? What happened?" Daniel asked.

From begin unable to breath, she quickly switched to hyperventilating. The more she thought about that vision and the more her breath increased speed. The more it increased and the more fear she felt.

"Ryuko! Look at me! Look at me, damn it!" Daniel said losing his temper. Gently grabbing her face with his hands, he forced her to face him without actually hurt her. "Calm down! Calm down!" He said. Seeing that the girl wasn't listening, or rather wasn't able to do as told, he quickly embraced her, slowly drawings small circles on her back. "Ryuko, I'm here… I'm here…"

At the beginning, it seemed to work. Soon, however, she resumed hyperventilating again. "Whatever happened, it must have been too much for her… Fuck, I didn't want to rely on this…" He thought. "Ryuko, do you trust me?" He said. "Don't answer, just move your head."

She nodded, almost at the point of crying and with her eyes filled with fear. Daniel broke away from the embrace and looked at her seriously. "This is going to hurt a little… Just bear with it please." He said and, without a word, he kissed her forehead.

Pain immediately shot through Ryuko's head. In normal circumstances she would have handled it pretty well. It wasn't very strong. More or less a small headache. But these weren't normal circumstances. She tried to break free, but Daniel's strength was too much for her. Just when she was about to punch him, however, the pain slowly subsided, as well as her fear. Daniel broke from that small kiss and embraced her again.

"Now listen to me… Breath slowly… Inhale… Exhale…" He instructed her. Ryuko did as told. It was hard at the beginning, but after a couple more breaths she managed to do it easily. Her racing heart slowed down to a normal beating and eventually, she found herself calm again… Drenched in cold sweat, but calm.

"What the fuck was… That?" She asked.

"Tell me what happened."

"I was… I don't know… I was just breathing normally… I suddenly found myself following your breath and… I saw my house… I saw myself and… The box with the launch… I placed it near myself…" She explained beginning to hyperventilate again.

"Calm down… I know what happened… Just calm down, then I will tell you everything…" Daniel answered keeping her into a tight embrace and resuming these small circles on her back.

"Alright…" She said forcing herself to slow her breath. After another minute, she managed to get an hold on herself once again. "Alright… I'm fine now…" She said.

"Good…" He sighed. "What you experienced now was something I define 'linked hearts'. It may happens when…" He stopped for a minute. Sighing again, he thought that it was going to be hard and that sadly he will be sighing a lot that day. "It may happens when a life fiber being is connected to another being… Something similar to your synchronization with Senketsu…"

"A life fiber hybrid?" Ryuko asked with wide eyes. "You mean… Someone… Fused with life fibers? I'm not that kind of being!" She shouted.

"No, you are not…"

"Then… How…" She froze, realizing what he was trying to say.

"I suppose we need to talk a lot…" Daniel said, breaking from the embrace.


End file.
